Feeling
by Kharron
Summary: AU. With one who is unable to understand what another is trying to convey, how can an unstable relationship be maintained, especially if other factors stand in the way? G27
1. Chapter 1

**Details of Tsuna's condition will be explained in the bottom author's note.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

"Tsu-kun!" Nana smiled, looking kindly at her four-year-old son, "Do you want to draw the picture or do you want me to do it?"

The little brown haired boy stared up at his smiling mother across him. The two of them sat face-to-face at a little circular table in his room. On the table, was a piece of paper and a stencil in the shape of an elephant. Scattered across the table surface, were an array of coloured pencils and crayons.

"Me," he replied quietly, picking up a purple crayon and holding it out expectantly to his mother.

Nana looked at her son carefully before she took the crayon and contemplatively drew around the elephant stencil. This had happened before. She would ask a simple question and he would reply in a manner that didn't correspond with the actions he follows with.

But she knew why he did so.

She placed the purple crayon down and slid across the ground until she kneeled in front of her son. Tsuna's innocent brown eyes stared up at her questioningly before Nana enveloped him in a tight hug.

Tsuna didn't know why his mother hugged him suddenly. He didn't mind, though. His mother's hugs were always warm and comfortable. When his mother finally released him, Tsuna nodded before turning to the mess of coloured pencils on the table.

Without a word, Tsuna started to align the pencils in a straight line, in order of longest to shortest. As the little boy started to organise the crayons, the home phone rang shrilly from across the hall.

Nana stood up and moved towards the ringing object, picking it up and answering it swiftly.

"Hello?"

"_Ah, is this Sawada Nana?"_

"Yes, it is she."

"_Good afternoon. This is Dr. Shamal."_

"Good afternoon, doctor. How can I help you?"

"_I'm calling about your son's conditions."_

"Tsuna's?"

"_Yes. The tests have replied back and we have indeed confirmed that your son has been diagnosed with autism."_

"Autism?" Nana felt her blood rush out of her face.

"_It's a complicated condition and is hard to speak about over the phone. Would you like to make an appointment?"_

"Yes please."

The time and date of the appointment were made swiftly. Little Tsuna had overheard bits of the conversation but had no idea what was going on then.

And what was this thing called "autism"? It didn't sound very good.

Tsuna thought no more about it as he continued to move the crayons into a straight line.

.

"I will now hand out the results of the IQ test survey you did the other day," Reborn-sensei announced, "Please come out when your name is called."

Reborn started to call out a long list of generic names, glancing at each IQ number before giving the results to the intended student. Some were average and some were low but none of them were high. Then again, he only classified people with an IQ of over 180 to be "high". Stupid pupils.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," he called as he glanced at the little mark on the piece of paper.

'_Fifty? This child has an IQ of fifty?'_

Reborn waited expectantly for his student to come up to receive his mark. The kid didn't budge as he continued to stare out one of the classroom windows. Reborn frowned before coughing and speaking loudly, "Sawada Tsunayoshi."

The brown eyes of his student widened slightly before his head snapped to the front as he answered with a loud, "Yes!"

"Come and collect your quiz."

Sawada Tsunayoshi walked towards the teacher's table in silence. His classmates stared down on him in scorn before loud murmurs erupted on either side of him.

Tsuna ignored all this. It was routine. Everyone did the same thing outside and inside, whispering and silently laughing right after. He never knew what they were laughing about, though. He was never included in these kinds of things.

As Tsuna collected his result quietly, the door of his classroom slid open, revealing a pair of golden eyes and equally golden hair.

The student sporting the lazy smile upon his handsome face, dressed in his impeccably clean uniform, bowed slightly before requesting for "Reborn-sensei" which, in turn, resulted in quiet giggles from Tsuna's female classmates.

Tsuna knew this student. He was famous everywhere he went, even outside of school. From his intended messy blond hair (which matched Tsuna's own hairstyle) to his newly polished shoes, Vongola Giotto was the student council president of Namimori High. Three quarters of the female population were after him, half of which were turned down within seconds. His outgoing attitude accompanied with his natural intelligence and impeccable manners resulted in teachers loving him. What's more, the achievement of becoming the Student Council President as well as being on the top of every class he attended granted him the nickname "Primo", used by peers and upperclassmen alike.

"Ah, good timing, Vongola. I have something to discuss with you," Reborn stated before turning to his awestruck class, "You guys, do whatever you want just keep it _down_."

Reborn walked outside as Giotto flashed a warm smile before following his teacher and closing the door behind him.

There was a moment of complete silence as the underlying menace in Reborn's words accompanied with the afterimage of Giotto's dazzling smile burned into everyone's brains before loud murmurs erupted everywhere. Tsuna's brain wandered, unconsciously listening in to a conversation that seemed louder than everyone else's.

"Haha! I got a better mark than you."

"Stupid Yakyuu-baka. That mark isn't a one. You can't have an IQ of over one thousand."

"I know, but let's just pretend I could."

One of the two speakers, the person known as "Yakyuu-baka", turned to the silent brown-haired boy who sat towards the back of the class looking at them. He got out of his chair and smiled a blinding smile.

"So how did you go, Sawada-san?"

Tsuna looked up before cocking his head to the side, "How did you go in what?"

The person who was still currently labelled as "Yakyuu-baka", frowned, "How did Sawada-san go in the IQ test?"

"Oh. Um… I got a fifty."

Tsuna swore that he could've been able to hear a pin drop on carpeted flooring with how silent the classroom had become.

"Good. You guys listened to me for once," a voice spoke as the classroom door slid open. A couple of people jumped at the sound.

"Sawada, go to the Student Council office," Reborn commanded.

Tsuna stood up slowly as many of his classmates started coughing to hide their laughter. Tsuna didn't know why they were coughing so much. Did they all come down with the flu? He continued to ponder about this as he made his way to the Student Council office.

There was no one in the corridors as Tsuna made his way to the Student Council office. Voices drifting from classrooms followed him everywhere he went before he finally found the little corner that had recently become the home of the Student Council.

As Tsuna was to raise his hand to knock on the door, it swung open, revealing a raven-haired boy holding a pair of silver tonfas. Tsuna blinked at the sight. He had seen this person somewhere before.

"Move." Venom laced his voice as the person at the doorway raised his tonfas threateningly towards Tsuna's neck, "Unless you want me to bite you to death."

Tsuna blinked at the tonfas by his neck before replying quietly, "But you don't want to be bitten."

"Ah, Hibari, stop. That kid doesn't know what you're insinuating. Leave him alone," a voice said from inside the room.

The boy, Hibari, frowned before walking away. Tsuna blinked at the trail of jacket behind the retreating figure before facing the door again.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Come in."

Tsuna had never stepped foot in the Student Council office before. He didn't think that there would be so much _paper_.

Giotto sat behind a wooden desk covered with books and pens, gesturing at a seat opposite of him. "Sit down," he said warmly.

Tsuna, who was still by the doorway, sat on the floor, wondering why the Student Council President asked him to sit in such a place.

Giotto blinked before letting out a small chuckle. "So this is what Reborn-sensei meant," he said to himself before turning to the brown-haired boy sitting on the floor, "Sit on the chair in front of my desk, please."

Tsuna frowned at the strange request of sitting somewhere else but didn't voice his confusion. He simply stood up, not taking note of Giotto's hand, which was in front of him to help him up, and walked over to the chair in front of his desk.

"So, Tsuna, how are you today?"

"Good."

Giotto nearly frowned at the boy. His failure to follow directions and carry on a conversation was starting to become a bit frustrating.

"I'll get to the point then," Giotto started, "Do you have any conditions that the school doesn't know about such as disabilities or disorders?"

Tsuna shook his head.

"Then do you have any conditions at all?"

Tsuna nodded.

"What are they?"

Tsuna shook his head.

Giotto sighed and scratched the back of his head. They weren't going anywhere with this but Giotto thought of a resolution to this problem almost immediately. He took out a pen and started writing a letter.

"Tell you what," he said to the brown-haired boy who was busy aligning the pens on his desk in length order, "Could you give this to your parents for me?"

Tsuna didn't respond, pleased with the progress he was making with the pens.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!" Giotto almost yelled, successfully grabbing the boy's attention, "Could you give this piece of paper to your parents?"

Giotto pointed at the single piece of paper, which was now covered in neat, tidy writing.

"Which one?"

Giotto wished to smash his head against the desk. He picked up the piece of paper and placed it in Tsuna's hands.

"Give it to your parents. You can go back to class now."

.

"How was your talk with the kid?" G. asked, shuffling a couple of papers before giving them to a teacher who was waiting expectantly outside of the office.

"He did a good job of organising my pens," Giotto replied, gesturing at the impeccably neat row of length-ordered pens on the opposite side of his desk.

G. frowned before smirking, "That's probably the neatest your desk has ever been."

The red head waited for a retaliation of some sort but was surprised to not receive any. After a couple of minutes, Giotto left the office with a stack of papers in his hand. Thinking that it was about time he left the office too, G. glanced around the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

There it was, standing proudly in a stack of white. Giotto's form of retaliation to the jibe about the desk he had given before. In return, Giotto piled up a mass of documents for him to look over and sign off. On top of the massive stack of papers was a small post-it note. On it:

_Hey, G. Thanks for taking care of my work. You're the best. (:_

_Giotto_

"Fuck you, man," G. muttered.

.

"How was school today, Tsu-kun?" Nana asked cheerfully as she heard her son enter the front door.

"Good."

Nana stopped marinating the chicken breast in front of her to turn to her only son. She noticed a piece of paper Tsuna was holding.

"What's this?" she asked, taking the paper.

"For you."

Tsuna went upstairs and closed his bedroom door behind him.

Nana turned back to her cooking as she read the note.

_Dear Parent/Guardian of Sawada Tsunayoshi,_

_I am Vongola Giotto, Student Council President of your son's school. Some teachers and peers have been worried of your son's lack of interaction with his classmates as well as his inability to comprehend gestures made by other people. Although we understand it is in your son's best interest that the school does not know about certain disabilities or disorders, it is, by school policy, compulsory, in order to maintain the wellbeing of other students._

_I have asked Tsuna about this and it seems as though he, himself, doesn't know. I wish to talk to you about this sometime in the near future. If there is anytime convenient for you to discuss this matter, please call the school and ask for me as soon as possible._

_Thankyou for your understanding._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Vongola Giotto_

Nana let out the breath she didn't realise she had been holding. She knew this day would some time soon. Looking at the clock on the kitchen wall, she knew that the school was still currently open.

She walked towards the home phone and picked it up gingerly. She dialled the number that was written underneath the signed name and breathed evenly as the dial tone started to ring.

"_Hello, this is Vongola Giotto speaking, how can I help you?"_

"Ah, I am Sawada Nana, Tsuna's mother."

"_Sawada-san! I didn't expect a call so soon. Thankyou for calling."_

"It's nothing."

"_Is there a certain time you would wish to discuss the matter?"_

"Oh. I stay at home for most of the days. I don't particularly mind when."

"_I see. Well, I'm free during the afternoons of some days, but any time as soon as possible would be good. We wish to act as soon as possible."_

"I understand."

Nana's eyes drifted towards the chicken that was half marinated, "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight at six? We could discuss afterwards."

"_Of course. I will see you then. Thankyou again, Sawada-san."_

"It's fine. Goodbye, Vongola-san."

.

At six o'clock sharp, the doorbell of the Sawada residence rang.

Nana opened the door nervously, revealing a pair of golden eyes and equally golden hair.

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><p><strong>So, Tsuna has autism. That's a bit blunt, isn't it?<strong>

**Specifically, Tsuna has PDD-NOS, which is "Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified" or atypical autism.**

**This condition is not as, for lack of better word, "hardcore" as the other two main cases of autism (classic autism and Asperger syndrome) but hinders social interaction and causes the repetition of actions (just on a lower scale).**

**Wiki's a good site to know more but for this story, not much is needed.**

**I know the beginning, I know the end, but the middle part of the story is still murky for me. If you like how this has started, please leave a review and that will encourage me to write more and think about this.**

**Thankyou for reading.**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankyou to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favourite-d! Every time I get one of those emails in my inbox, I feel all weird and happy. :)**

**Puritsu 0127: It's not quite set in stone how they will fall for each other but the question on whether Tsuna gets better or not… Well, that would spoil part of it. xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

"Ah! It's Vongola-san, isn't it?" Nana exclaimed.

"Giotto, is fine," the blond replied.

"Then, Giotto-san, come in, come in. I'm sorry it's a bit messy."

Giotto smiled his charming smile, "No, it's fine. Excuse me."

He took the opportunity to look around the house. It was fairly homey, with a kitchen to the side and a staircase that led to, what he assumed was, the bedrooms.

"You have a lovely home," Giotto commented.

"Thankyou," Nana replied, smiling before raising her voice up a bit, "Tsu-kun! Vongola-san just arrived."

After a few minutes, Tsuna descended the stairs, looking curiously at the visitor.

"Good evening, Tsunayoshi," Giotto greeted.

Tsuna merely nodded in response. By this point, Giotto was feeling extremely awkward and intrusive. Nana didn't sense this and happily said, "Tsu-kun, why don't you take Giotto-san to your room until dinner's ready? I'll take some tea up later."

"Ok," Tsuna replied before reaching out and taking hold of Giotto's hand.

The blond was stunned when he felt that small, warm hand take hold of his own. When Tsuna's mother said "take Giotto-san to your room", it didn't literally mean _take_.

_'Then again, this was Tsuna. He took things for granted,'_ Giotto thought. It was only then that Giotto realised the boy holding his hand was tugging gently, effectively dragging him out of his thoughts.

The two of them walked up the stairs in a slightly awkward fashion. Tsuna was standing at the front with his left arm stretched backwards, attached to Giotto's right hand, arm outstretched and walking behind. The two of them continued to walk like that until they arrived outside one of the bedroom doors with a small "27" hanging off a hook.

Without a word, Tsuna opened the door of his room. Giotto found this slightly amusing. Most people wouldn't let unexpected visitors go into their rooms. Then again, Tsuna wasn't "most people". Repeating his previous action, Tsuna took hold of Giotto's hand. The heat from the brunet's hand, yet again, caught Giotto by surprise.

They merely walked three steps each until both of them were in Tsuna's room and their hands dropped once more. Tsuna closed the door behind them and switched the lights on.

Giotto was alarmed by the state of the room. For someone who lined pencils up in the order of length, Tsuna's room was a _pigsty_.

The circular table in the centre of the room was upturned and pencils were strewn everywhere. Paper was scattered along the ground and his bed was unmade. The only thing that was orderly in some way, was a neat stack of books, aligned perfectly against the wall, stacked up better than a bricklayer could build a wall.

"T-Tsunayoshi," Giotto started, still in shock by the state of the room, "Why don't we clean this up until dinner?"

Tsuna's mother walked in immediately after Giotto finished asking his question, carrying a tray holding a teapot and two cups.

"Sorry about the state of Tsuna's room," Nana smiled at Giotto, "He tends to let off some steam in here. Dinner will be ready in about five minutes." She then turned to Tsuna, "Tsu-kun, wash your hands, ok?"

Tsuna nodded before leaving the room to do as he was told. Nana placed the table in the centre of the room upright before placing the tray of tea down gently and leaving with a smile. Meanwhile, Giotto's mind was still stuck on what had been said before.

Let off some steam? What was that meant to mean?

Dinner came and passed quickly. The food, as delicious as it was, was eaten in almost complete silence. As soon as Tsuna had finished eating (which took only a mere amount of minutes), he immediately retreated to his room without a word, leaving his mother and Giotto sitting across each other, chewing as quietly as possible. Giotto had to admit that although he had a mountain of duties as a Student Council President, many of which included meetings and speeches, dinner at Sawada Tsunayoshi's house was by far the most frustrating and _awkward_ situation he had ever been in.

Finally, the time for the long-awaited discussion had arrived.

"So, is there anything Tsuna has that the school doesn't know about?" Giotto enquired.

Nana nodded sighing, "He was diagnosed with autism at the age of four."

Giotto frowned. He had guessed something like that, "Why wasn't the school told of this? Arrangements could have been made to place Tsuna into a special class."

"I didn't want him to feel different," Nana said sadly, "He has always been alone and without a father figure as well…"

That caught Giotto's interest, "Father figure?"

"Tsuna's father went to Italy on an extended business trip. He comes back occasionally but Tsuna sees him as a stranger."

"Oh, I'm sorry to pry."

"No, it's nothing." Nana smiled, "Is there anything else?"

"Well, I will let the school know of Tsuna's condition but for his sake, only the principal, his homeroom teacher and I will know of this," Giotto grinned, "We will do everything in our power to help."

"Thankyou." Nana placed her hands around her cup of tea before speaking softly, "May I ask what happens at school? Tsuna never tells me. He usually goes straight to his room after classes."

Giotto thought about this for a while, "From what his teacher, Reborn-sensei, has said, Tsuna seems to be bullied a lot. I don't think he does anything about it, though. It seems like he doesn't realise."

Nana's eyes widened in understanding, "Oh."

"What is it?" Giotto asked.

Nana breathed out, "I mentioned before that Tsuna sometimes lets off some steam in his room." Giotto nodded and Nana continued speaking, "He often had tantrums when he was little. All the children used to make fun of him. He was stressed, lonely and didn't have any friends."

Giotto realised where this was going.

"He used to come back home and cry but he would never tell me what was wrong. When he entered middle school, he didn't do a thing. It was only once that I caught him kicking his table over," Nana looked down at the table. Giotto knew that her eyes were currently watery.

"All he wants to do is fit in!" Nana exclaimed, "He doesn't know what's wrong! He doesn't know why he's alone! He doesn't understand what people are calling him! All he knows is that it's not nice!"

Giotto was speechless. There was nothing he could say or do to comfort her. Her pain was something he could never understand.

"He needs friends! He needs someone other than me to look after and care for him! He's vulnerable! Giotto-san! Please, hel-!"

A loud slam made by the front door stopped Nana from continuing. A cold draught of cold air made its way into the dining room and Nana and Giotto were immediately aware of what was happening.

Tsuna had heard their conversation.

Both Nana and Giotto sprinted up the stairs to check on Tsuna's room. The lights were closed, the door was wide open and the little table in the centre of his room was, once again, upturned. A pot of tea sat on the floor on its side, its contents already creeping over the floorboards rapidly.

The two of them dashed downstairs once more, opening up the front door. They were greeted with a gust of cold air sprinkled with the beginnings of rain.

Nana gasped, dropping to her knees. Her only son. Her son who doesn't understand the language of the body. The one who doesn't know of the dangers of the night world.

"Call the police. I'll search for him outside," Giotto spoke calmly.

Nana nodded helplessly. There were many reasons why Giotto was Student Council President, one of which was because he was level-headed at all times.

Giotto ran outside, calling out Tsuna's name while Nana rushed to the nearest phone and called the police.

.

"Tsuna!" Giotto yelled, running at an even pace. He knew that Tsuna wouldn't respond no matter how many times his name was called but it felt like it was tradition to call when searching, right?

The cold air hit his skin, accompanied with the patter of light rain. Giotto smirked despite of himself. How clichéd.

Giotto continued to run, calling out occasionally and asking random passers-by for any details.

He unconsciously found himself travelling a very familiar path. He realised later that this was the path he took when walking to school.

Not long after, Giotto stumbled across a dimly lit park. He knew this park. It was the one right by his home. Did he really travel that far in what felt like such a short amount of time?

A single, lonely figure sat on one of the benches, hunched over in the fetal position. That brown hair, in a style that matched Giotto's own, dampened with the rain which had cleared, made no mistake.

"Tsuna!"

The figure didn't budge as Giotto walked slowly towards the bench, catching his breath from running.

Tsuna looked up at the shadow that loomed over him. His blond Student Council President, the one who everyone revered, had chased him for over a kilometre.

"My home's nearby," Giotto said, smiling and brushing wet blond strands from his face, "I'll take you, sorry, _lead_ you there in case it rains again."

Tsuna stood up gingerly, waiting expectantly. Giotto petted him on the head once before walking out of the park towards his home.

Tsuna frowned. "I'm not a dog," he thought.

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><p><strong>Argh, sorry for the short chapter. I was going to write more but my brain died.<strong>

**I will try and hit 3K words next chapter. :D (I doubt that it'll happen but it's a goal!)**

**Reviews are much loved.**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thankyou to Bouncingapple for being awesome and having excellent ideas!**

**Nobody Owens: I have never heard of that book before. The idea started when I saw an informative advertisement on television about autism. Strange reason, but that's how it is. (:**

**Once again, thankyou to all reviewers and people who put this story on alert and favourite. They all make me smile.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

Giotto's apartment was small. Extremely small. It consisted of a small kitchen, which he also considered his dining room and living room, a tiny bathroom and one bedroom. The main room was sparsely decorated with a small table, two chairs, a small television and a two-seater sofa. No one had ever been to his home before, not even his best friend, G., or his past partners. Hell, even his _parents_ had never seen the building before.

But he never intended for anyone to visit anyway.

As he walked swiftly up the staircase with Tsuna trailing behind, looking around in wonder, he began to have second thoughts about inviting someone he barely knew to his home, where the people closest to him have never been.

As they finally arrived outside unit 18, Giotto stopped abruptly, causing Tsuna's face to smash right into the blond's back. The brown-haired boy jumped back almost immediately, rubbing his nose while Giotto apologised.

"When we go inside, call your mother and I'll go get a towel to dry off, ok?" Giotto said.

Tsuna nodded in understanding while Giotto searched in his pocket for his keys.

The door of his apartment creaked open ominously as Giotto searched the wall for the light switch. Tsuna watched in interest as the yellow brightened up the room. He had never been to someone else's home before. He never realised how different other homes could be. The building, which he lived in for all his life, was fairly large, spacious and had many rooms. This place was cramped, narrow, and only had one bedroom.

Tsuna only then realised that Giotto was placing a mobile in his hands.

"Call your home number," he directed before leaving in search of towels.

Tsuna stared at the contraption in his hands, punching in each number of his home phone slowly before waiting for the dial tone to start ringing.

It only took one dial tone before his mother's voice sounded through the other end, speaking slightly faster than usual.

"_Hello?"_

"It's me, Tsuna."

"_Tsu-kun! Why did you run out like that? Mama was so worried!"_

Tsuna didn't say anything.

"_I'm glad you're safe now. Is Giotto-san with you?"_

"No. He went to get towels."

There was a small silence on the other end of the phone as Tsuna promptly felt some weight on his head. Edges of white towel hung over his vision before his mother began to start speaking again.

As his mother was speaking, very rapidly, he might add, Tsuna felt rough pressure against his hair, ruffling the brown strands until they were dry.

"What are you doing?" Tsuna asked, attempting to look at the blond who was standing behind him, running a towel through his hair.

"Drying," was the simple reply.

The two of them stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Tsuna was listening to his mother over the phone and Giotto stood right behind him, hands on the towel, drying his hair even long after it was dry.

"_Tsu-kun? Could you give Giotto-san the phone?"_

"It is his phone."

Giotto stopped moving his hands for a bit, having heard that part of the conversation.

"_I mean can you pass him the phone? I want to speak to him,"_ Nana corrected herself swiftly. Years of experience, Giotto concluded. He, himself, had to think about how to phrase things so Tsuna would understand. Nana did it so effortlessly.

Tsuna poked Giotto's shoulder before placing the phone gently in his hands. The blond smiled and thanked him before sitting down in a nearby chair.

"Hello? Sawada-san?"

"_Just call me Nana."_ Giotto could almost hear her smile and relief over the phone.

"Well, Nana-san. Tsuna's fine. I found him in a park near my home. He's here for the time being."

"_Thank goodness. I don't know what I'll do if I lost him."_

Giotto stiffened when he felt something drape over his head carefully. Small hands imitated the actions he was previously doing to Tsuna's hair, making it feel more like a massage rather than getting dry. Giotto angled his head upwards towards the brown-haired boy who was intent in returning the favour in drying his hair.

"What are you doing?" Giotto enquired, placing a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone while enjoying the soothing feel of Tsuna's gentle hands in his hair.

"Drying," Tsuna replied monotonously. Giotto almost laughed and wondered whether standing up would cause Tsuna to find difficulty in drying due to his shorter stature.

"_Hello? Giotto-san?"_

"Ah, sorry. I missed that. Could you repeat, please?" Giotto gushed out, forgetting he was still on the phone with Tsuna's mother.

"_I asked whether Tsu-kun can stay over your place for now. He has school tomorrow anyway and it's too late to come home at this hour."_

"Yeah, ok. I have no problems with that."

"_Thankyou Giotto-san! You are welcome in our home any time, as well."_

Giotto smiled, "I'll walk Tsuna back home tomorrow after school then."

"_Alright then. Bye!"_

Giotto hung up the phone as he felt the small hands and towel on his head slow down.

"Your mother told you to stay at my home for tonight, Tsuna," Giotto stated as Tsuna removed the towel and set it down on a table. The brown-haired boy didn't respond as he sat in a chair opposite to Giotto.

The blond's gaze wondered outside of the room, looking at the night sky, which was shrouded with clouds. It was going to rain later tonight.

Rain…

Giotto was suddenly alarmed by the state of his wet clothing. Glancing at the boy in front of him, Giotto discovered that he was shivering slightly. Giotto slapped himself mentally in the head as he faced the boy who stared back in interest.

"Why don't you hop in the shower and I'll get you some new clothes to wear? They won't fit but it should be ok for one night," Giotto said, picking up the two towels on the table.

Tsuna nodded, standing up. Giotto's request was strange. He wouldn't want to _hop_ into a shower. That would be painful. He knew he lacked the coordination most people had so merely walking into a shower would be decent enough.

As Tsuna made his way to Giotto's bathroom, his mind wandered everywhere. What were his mother and Giotto discussing about? He was fine by himself. A bit lonely, yes, but that's how it has been for all his life. His thoughts then drifted over to his stunningly good-looking blond Student Council President. Giotto was nice. Not many people would go out of their way to do something for him.

Tsuna continued to think about random things while he walked into the shower. He enjoyed thinking. Well, he enjoyed thinking much more than speaking and acting. Oh, his mother also mentioned something about autism. The word created a sense of nostalgia back from his early childhood years. He would have to look it up when he went home.

_Tsuna._

It was probably a condition of some sorts. That's what Giotto questioned about before.

_Tsuna?_

The shower felt nice. It was warm, much different to when he was hunched on the bench in the park.

_Tsuna!_

Then again, his mother was saying strange things. She said things along the lines of "help him". Tsuna knew there wasn't anything wrong with him. He was just different from everyone else.

"SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI!"

"YES?" Tsuna responded quickly and loudly, frightened by the sudden voice that intruded his thoughts.

"You've been in there for almost half an hour," Giotto's voice sounded from behind the bathroom door, "I don't really mind that but are you alright?"

Had it really been almost half an hour? Time flies when you're having fun. Tsuna found this as a cue to turn the tap off. His skin was starting to feel a bit overly cleansed, anyway.

"I'm opening the door to give you a towel and spare clothing."

Tsuna opened the shower door as Giotto opened the bathroom door, giving Giotto a perfect view of… Well…

The blond coughed as Tsuna cocked his head to the side. What happened? Giotto's face certainly looked a bit pinker than usual. Was it the steam from the remnants of his shower?

"Excuse me," Giotto coughed once more as he placed the clothing on the bathroom bench and exited almost immediately.

Tsuna looked at the clothing before saying a loud "thankyou", to which Giotto responded with a sound that was akin to a grunt or a splutter.

Tsuna's mind wandered again. Yes, Giotto was nice. A bit strange, but still nice.

He pulled the loose blue shirt over his head, finding out that it really didn't fit. Tsuna never realised the difference in size until just then. Ah well.

Ignoring the fact that the sleeve of his shirt was falling off his left shoulder, Tsuna pulled up the spare pants Giotto had lent him. They, too, were slightly too big. Tsuna frowned before he noticed a black leather belt lying innocently on the bathroom bench. Threading the belt through the loopholes in his borrowed pants, Tsuna walked out of the bathroom in search of Giotto.

A nearby clock, with its arms stretched out, stared at the brown-haired boy who was looking for a mess of blond hair. Tsuna wondered dimly about whether the blond hair was natural. Not many people from Japan had naturally brown hair, let alone blond. Then again, one of his classmates, Gokudera Hayato, had silver hair, but that was because of his well-known Italian heritage. Giotto wasn't Italian, was he?

Tsuna wasn't so sure. Maybe he'll ask sometime soon.

When he finds the blond, first.

It was only then that Tsuna realised he was a mere five steps away from the bathroom. He could barely see the main room of the tiny apartment. He made his way to the small sofa and sat down. With an apartment of this size, Giotto would be bound to show up some time or another.

A shadow crept up from behind the sofa as a pale hand snaked down in search of something on the sofa. Tsuna glanced at the hand, startled by its sudden appearance. The brunet turned his head slightly to find his face centimetres away from the person he was looking for previously.

A hard, cold object made its way into Tsuna's hand as Giotto smiled, "I'm going to go take a shower. You can watch tv, if you like."

Tsuna nodded, facing the small television in front of him and pressing the "ON" button. He heard the door of the bathroom click shut and the start of the shower before his eyes felt droopy. Stifling a yawn, Tsuna flicked through a number of channels before settling on a random crime show that seemed interesting enough. A brightly coloured advertisement was the last thing he saw before his head hit the edge of the sofa and his eyes slid shut slowly.

.

A gentle but persistent nudge on his shoulder caused Tsuna to be dragged from his sleep unwillingly. Just moments ago, he was lying happily in a field of golden flowers, doodling on a piece of paper in orange ink before a light tug on his left hand caused him to drop the pen. A pale hand intertwined its fingers with his own, the person's face blocked out by the bright glare of the yellow sun.

"_Tsuna_," the voice called gently. Tsuna could only feel sheer happiness as heat spread through his body from those warm hands. Those years of loneliness and contempt were replaced with warmth and care. He had never felt the acceptance of others. His mother was his only support.

But this person…

The real world, the world where he didn't understand a thing, the world where everybody laughed silently at him, was angry, scornful. In his dream world, the world he knew was a figment of his imagination, was devoid of secrets.

He never realised he wanted it so much until now.

The brightness faded, settling to a much darker yellow. The field of golden flowers turned into a small sofa and the hand connected to his own drifted away, its warm touch, a mere, fleeting dream.

"You wouldn't want to sleep out here. You'll get a cold."

Tsuna opened his eyes. Golden irises looked back at him, "We've got school tomorrow and I don't want you to be going back to your mother with a sore throat and back."

Tsuna nodded in understanding, sitting upright and stretching.

"My room's a bit messy but it will do. Go to sleep."

Tsuna nodded once more before shuffling slowly towards Giotto's bedroom.

The moment the brunet disappeared, Giotto hit himself on the forehead. He sounded like a nagging father. He was dealing with a person who was only two years younger than him, not a five-year-old child. Autism didn't really make a difference. It just made someone… less perceptive of things around them.

Giotto sighed. He lived alone. There was only one bed. It would be hypocritical to sleep on the sofa after telling Tsuna off for it.

A sudden, light tug on his sleeve caused Giotto to jump. Tsuna was standing behind him, left hand upraised, pulling on the fabric of Giotto's pyjamas.

"Tsuna! I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"Are you sleeping?"

Giotto blinked. For someone who didn't understand basic hand gestures, did Tsuna already figure out the flaw in Giotto's scolding? Did he realise that there was only one other legitimate place to sleep other than the sofa?

"Yeah. I'll sleep in a bit."

Tsuna smiled and walked back to the bedroom without any questions about where Giotto was going to sleep.

The blond frowned. He really didn't get this kid after all.

Deciding that the sofa was the only place he could sleep, Giotto crept into his room for a blanket and a pillow. Tsuna was sitting on the bed under the covers, looking expectantly at the blond.

"You're not asleep, yet?" Giotto enquired, searching for a spare pillow and blanket.

"I always wait until Mum comes."

Giotto's mind was already clicking things in place.

"Does you sleep with your mum?"

Tsuna moved his head to the side, "Mum said I used to talk in my sleep so I sleep in her bed now."

"So… You want me to sleep in the same bed as you."

Tsuna frowned, "Isn't that what usually happens?"

Giotto wished he could turn around and bash his head against the wall until he fell unconscious. He met this kid _earlier that day_. Only! Now he will be _sleeping in the same bed_?

Giotto sighed. Tsuna didn't know any better. He didn't expect Tsuna to know any better.

He certainly didn't expect this to happen.

Giotto glanced at his bed. It could fit the both of them without any touching. Tsuna was pretty small.

But he was wearing a loose shirt and pants…

The blond started to curse his hormones. Tsuna was someone he barely knew. Tsuna probably doesn't even know what sex _is_.

Giotto weighed his decisions. Sore back, bed. Sore back, bed.

Bed it was.

The phone in his apartment rang shrilly, causing both Tsuna and Giotto to tense up. It was almost midnight. Who on earth would call at this time?

The insistent ringing continued to echo through the apartment. Giotto had half a mind to ignore the damn thing. It would stop ringing sometime soon.

It didn't.

"Hold on, I'll come back," Giotto promised before sprinting for the phone and answering it before another ring sounded.

"Hello?" Giotto answered, making sure his frown was conveyed through his voice.

"_Giotto,"_ a deep voice replied.

Giotto stiffened. This voice. How did that person get his number? How did he find out? He made sure he didn't leave any tracks.

How?

Why?

Who?

"_Giotto. Answer."_

The blond straightened up, his face wiped blank of emotion. Tsuna, whose curiosity had peaked by such a late phone call, stood by the doorway, trying to hear what was being said.

"_I'm waiting."_

Giotto wanted to swear. He was helpless against this man. An insect trapped in an elaborately woven web.

There was no escape.

"Father."

* * *

><p><strong>ARGH! I am so close to my 3K word goal! Well, after this author's note, it might make it. :D<strong>

**But yes, the plot is unravelling! Stay tuned!**

**About updates: I have exams going on at the moment so I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be out. Either way, I will try and update in a week.**

**I'm hoping there aren't too many mistakes in this chapter because I wanted to update before my brain disintegrated into mass of equations and unnecessary information but I didn't get time to edit. Please point them out if you find any.**

**Leave a review please!**

_**Kharron**_** (:**

**(Noo! I still didn't make it up to 3K!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**MissDinosaur: Thankyou! :D**

**And a big thankyou to my lovely lovely readers. Here's your update! (:**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

The quiet buzzing of an alarm sounded as Giotto's hand shot out to silence the damned object. He winced as the bright light from his open bedroom window seeped through his tightly shut eyelids. Turning over, he pulled his blanket over his face and attempted to get some more sleep.

It wasn't a very nice night.

After the unpleasant phone call he had with his father, he settled into an uneasy sleep. He dreamt of the things his father made him do, the lives he had ruined, his tainted body…

Snippets of his conversation with his father accompanied with unwanted memories drifted through his mind as he groaned and forced his body to wake up. With a yawn, he sat up, tousling his blond hair and blinking the sleep away.

It was then that he realised there was someone else in his bed.

Giotto leapt out of his bed, accidentally knocking over a lamp in the process. His brain frantically thought of about twenty different possibilities as to why there was someone there. His father? No, he wasn't in Japan. Did he go drinking last night? No, his head didn't hurt at all. What if he-

The person in his bed moved, hand on stomach and arm over eyes. Giotto still continued to think. What happened? What did he do?

The person yawned, stretching before sitting up slowly. Giotto was greeted with the sight of a boy with messy brown hair, wearing his spare pyjamas, which were obviously a size too big.

… Sawada Tsunayoshi?

Tsuna stretched out his limbs as the warmth from the area beside him suddenly disappeared. He had a good night's sleep, one of the best he had had in quite some time. He dreamt of the field of golden flowers again, enjoying the images and warmth before being pulled away from unconsciousness and into harsh reality.

He sat up, feeling the sleeve of his pyjama shirt slide off his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing a blur of colours before blinking twice. His Student Council president stood before him, wide-eyed and mouth agape, a picture of perfect shock.

"Good morning," Tsuna muttered as Giotto shook himself out of the alarm from seeing Tsuna in his bed, memories of the night before reminding him of the circumstances.

"Good morning," Giotto replied, calm now completely regained.

Tsuna sat in Giotto's bed, unsure of what to do. He didn't have his uniform as he had changed before Giotto visited last night…

"Your clothes from last night are just about dry now. I'll give you a slip to pardon your from school uniform today," Giotto said offhandedly, tossing Tsuna his clothing while doing up his tie with one hand.

Tsuna stared at his clothes. "Thankyou," he murmured, dragging his borrowed blue pyjama top over his head and replacing it with his white shirt and orange jacket.

Giotto smiled, "There should be a spare cup and toothbrush under the sink in the bathroom. After you finish changing… Your clothing… You can use them to brush your teeth."

Tsuna nodded and frowned mentally. He wasn't stupid. Giotto didn't need to clarify that he should change his clothing, but a toothbrush and a cup? Wouldn't he need toothpaste? Tsuna didn't wish to intrude anymore so he stayed silent, hoping a toothbrush and cup would be enough to clean his teeth.

.

The lovely aroma of toast, bacon and eggs wafted through the hallway as Tsuna emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and teeth feeling slightly clean. Giotto was sitting at the small table, drinking a glass of orange juice. As Tsuna came into view, Giotto put down his cup and gestured at the food on the table.

"It's not much but it's good enough for breakfast," he grinned, "Eat as much as you like."

Tsuna looked at the food on the table. There were at least six fried eggs, eight slices of bacon, six slices of toast and a tank of orange juice. If it were the food that Giotto was referring to, the statement "it's not much" would be invalid.

Tsuna decided to stay quiet as he pulled out a chair and sat in it. A plate, a knife and a fork were lined neatly on the area in front of him. No chopsticks?

Giotto smiled, saying a quiet _itadakimasu_ before picking up his cutlery and starting to eat. Tsuna did the same, whispered an _itadakimasu_ before picking up his knife and fork gingerly.

"I don't have many guests over," Giotto said after swallowing a mouthful of egg, "But I hope my cooking's ok. It must be bland compared to your mother's, though."

Tsuna angled the knife awkwardly in his right hand as he attempted to cut off a piece of the egg. He had never used a knife and fork before, as his home only had chopsticks to eat with.

"Never used a knife and fork before?" Giotto asked as though reading his mind while finishing his third slice of bacon. Tsuna shook his head at Giotto's question.

"Ah, then just use the fork. That should be easy enough."

Tsuna placed the knife down on the table, before reaching out with his fork and stabbing the egg.

Giotto blinked, noticing something with Tsuna's actions, "You're left-handed?"

Tsuna looked up before glancing at the fork in his left hand. Come to think of it, he had never realised before. He always felt it was easy to do things with his left hand. His right hand always felt awkward and weak.

Tsuna nodded once before concentrating on eating again. He was hungry and still hadn't taken a bite yet.

"Left-handers are good. They're talented at spatial perception, art, and sport, too," Giotto commented, drinking his forth glass of orange juice.

Tsuna blinked. He wasn't good at art, or sport, and he'd have to check what spatial perception was at home.

Giotto watched as Tsuna lifted the forkful of egg to his mouth. G. was the only one of two people who had tasted his cooking before and his response wasn't very nice.

Tsuna's eyes widened momentarily as he looked as though he was killing himself in swallowing the egg. His hand shot out and grabbed hold of his glass of orange juice and downed it in one gulp, slamming the cup on the table the moment he was done.

The blond frowned at the response, "How was the egg?"

Tsuna could feel his left eye twitching slightly as he said weakly, "Too salty."

Giotto's frown deepened, "G. said the same thing in cruder terms. Something along the lines of, 'Why the fuck is this so salty? How much do you fucking use? Are you trying to kill me?'" Giotto sighed, "I don't use _that_ much salt."

Tsuna didn't reply but he secretly agreed. That one mouthful was as though he buried his head in a massive barrel of salt and ate all of its contents without any water.

Simply put, it was horrible. Tsuna dimly wondered what else Giotto had in that kitchen of his…

.

It was a thirty-five minute walk from Giotto's apartment to Namimori High. Giotto enjoyed walking in the morning air. It was always cold and refreshing, except during summer. The sound of the wind rustling the leaves of trees was soothing and the lack of cars along his street added to the calm.

Tsuna and Giotto passed the little park beside the apartments. The area was brightly lit by the sunlight, a massive contrast to the dark and wet place it was the night before.

Giotto glanced at the brown-haired boy walking silently beside him. He was a polite kid, a bit quiet but well behaved nonetheless. Tsuna reminded him dimly of himself a couple of years back. Alone, clueless…

Vulnerable.

The blond felt like an older brother. He now knew Tsuna's condition. The reason as to why he's by himself. As Student Council president, he would be able to help.

There was a light tug on Giotto's sleeve and the blond looked at Tsuna in question.

"Are you Italian?" Tsuna asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

Giotto blinked at the sudden question, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You're blond."

Said blond frowned, "Yes, I am."

Tsuna nodded in satisfaction before resuming his silence.

Giotto raised an eyebrow. One would've thought his last name gave everything away about his heritage.

The two of them continued to walk in silence until they were around 15 minutes away from the school. A black car with tinted windows drove into view not long after. The blond recognised the vehicle immediately.

Giotto stopped in his tracks, frozen. Tsuna glanced at the blond questioningly, stopping as well. Time stopped for a second before Giotto clenched his fist. The blond bent down to Tsuna's height, handing him a slip of paper.

"If any teachers ask why you are out of school uniform, show that to them. It should be enough," Giotto clenched his jaw, "I forgot something back at home so just keep walking straight forward until you reach the school, ok? Straight forward. Do not talk to anyone until you get to school. Understand?"

Tsuna frowned at the sudden commands. Giotto's voice was much lower than usual. Why was he whispering?

Before he was able to ask any questions, Giotto sprinted back from where the two of them came from. A black car passed by not long after as Tsuna maintained his frown and continued to walk.

He was alone again.

.

School passed by swiftly. Tsuna didn't see Giotto any more that day. As predicted, most of his teachers questioned as to why he was out of school uniform. As commanded, Tsuna showed them the little piece of paper Giotto had handed to him earlier.

The brown-haired boy waited outside the school gates. If he remembered correctly, Giotto had told his mother that he was going to walk home with Tsuna that day.

An hour passed and there was still no sign of Giotto. Wondering where he had gone off to, Tsuna dropped by the Student Council office to see if anyone knew of Giotto's whereabouts.

He walked the path he had yesterday, noting that the classrooms were now silent and the sky outside had started to turn orange in colour. The brown-haired boy stood outside the Student Council office, ready to knock.

"_What do you mean he's not here?"_ a voice spoke from behind the wooden door.

"_He didn't come to school today,"_ another voice replied.

"_Can you give me an address or something?"_

"_Sorry, can't. School rules."_

Tsuna knocked on the door, the voices inside immediately growing quiet.

"Come in."

Tsuna turned the doorknob revealing a red head with a tattoo on his face and a blond who had a bandage over his right eye.

"What do you want?" the red head asked, crossing his arms.

"Um," Tsuna started, "Is Giotto-san here?"

The red head raised an eyebrow, "Hey, aren't you the kid Giotto talked to yesterday?"

Tsuna nodded slowly, also feeling another pair of eyes on his body.

"Giotto didn't come to school today. He called in sick-"

"You, come with me," the blond spoke, grabbing Tsuna by the arm and walking out of the Student Council office.

"Hey you! Don't go kidnapping our students!" G. yelled after them. By then, they were already out of earshot and G. wasn't bothered to go after them. Giotto had such strange acquaintances.

.

Tsuna stared at the blond who was dragging him through the corridors of the school and to the outside. This person didn't have golden blond hair like Giotto did, but more like a platinum blond, nearly white.

"You, who are you and what do you know about Giotto?" the blond asked harshly, shaking Tsuna roughly.

"I'm Tsuna and I know that Giotto is our Student Council president. Oh, and he's Italian too," Tsuna replied simply, not understanding the menace underlying the blond's words.

"What else?" the blond asked.

"He eats a lot? He can use a knife and fork? He's right-handed?" Tsuna didn't know what this person wanted him to say.

The blond furrowed his eyebrows, "Anything else? Like where he lives?"

"Near a park."

The person sighed, "Any details?"

Tsuna blinked, "Details of what?"

"About where he lives."

Tsuna looked at the blond carefully, "… Near a park."

The blond sighed once more, releasing Tsuna's shoulders from his grip. The brown-haired boy moved his shoulder gingerly, feeling slight pain from where he was gripped.

"What happened to your eye?" Tsuna asked, staring at the bandage over the blond's right eye.

The blond frowned, "None of your business."

Tsuna stared up at the blond, his face inching closer, "It doesn't look like it's been properly wrapped. I've got some stuff at home that could fix it. Do you want to come over?"

The blond didn't reply. This kid was strange. Really strange. Who on earth invites a stranger over to their home just to fix a poorly attached bandage?

Then again, he might get more information on Giotto's whereabouts.

"Fine," the blond replied, crossing his arms, "You're Tsuna, right?"

The brown-haired boy nodded, starting to walk in the direction of his home.

"I'm Alaude."

.

Giotto opened his eyes slowly. His stomach felt battered and he was fairly sure he had a broken bone or two somewhere in his body. Breathing caused pain to rack up and down his spine and the ropes that tied his arms and legs together didn't make the job any easier.

"Finally awake? We might've used a bit too much chloroform this time," a voice spoke silkily.

Giotto stayed silent, trying to get as much information as his whereabouts as possible. He had a fairly good idea. He spent most of his life here after all.

"Your father isn't very happy that you ran away this time, Gio-chan," the voice continued, "It took us quite a long time to find you and he lost quite a few potential sales. Hell, I even lost a finger because of it. You're lucky he left the country for business."

The blond continued to stay silent. One word could make his situation a whole lot worse.

"You'll have to make up for it later, Gio-chan."

Giotto bit his tongue, willing himself to not emit any sounds at all.

"Well, you have good timing, kid. We're here."

A harsh kick on his back forced Giotto to let out a sound of pain as the back door of the black car with tinted windows opened up revealing people scattered everywhere.

Make-up, brothels, prostitutes, strip clubs, drugs, money and men.

"Welcome home, Gio-chan."

Welcome home to the place where most people would refer to as the red light district.

* * *

><p>… <strong>What the hell have I made myself write?<strong>

**Just as a warning, this story might be kicked up to M somewhere in the near future.**

**Leave a review please!**

_**Kharron (:**_


	5. Chapter 5

**MissDinosaur: You're very special~ XD Oh, and my tests were horrible. Ah well. Thanks for your comments. :D**

**Aki Sou: I don't think this story will be too dark… It might come close, but I doubt it. (:**

**puristu0127: Yeah, the red light district. I'll push the rating up depending on how this chapter goes. :D**

**To all my readers and reviewers: You guys are the best! XD**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

Alaude and Tsuna sat next to each other at the table in Tsuna's room. A little first aid kit sat open between them, its contents lined up neatly on the floor beside it. The bandage over Alaude's right eye had been carefully undone, revealing a nasty purple bruise and a deep wound. The blond flinched when Tsuna applied a cold cream over the area, clenching his fist tightly as if doing so would lessen the pain.

Nana had left a tray of tea on the table after a short scolding about the dangers of arriving home late but she had not said anything about bringing home strangers. Alaude concluded that Tsuna's actions around strangers were a genetic thing.

The two of them, Tsuna and Alaude, sat in a comfortable silence as the brunet cleaned up the wound carefully and unravelled a clean length of bandage. The moment Tsuna had finished, Alaude opened his mouth to speak.

"Do you know where Giotto is?" he asked monotonously, watching Tsuna as he replaced everything inside the first aid kit neatly and placed it back on a shelf.

Tsuna shook his head, pouring Alaude and himself some tea.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Alaude continued to question, accepting the tea with a word of thanks.

"This morning." Tsuna sipped his tea and looked at Alaude's hair. It was blond. "Are you Italian too?"

Alaude frowned, "I don't see why that is of importance, but no."

Tsuna blinked. Come to think of it, Italy must be a very bright place, with all the blond to silver haired people. Then again, why were there so many Italians in Japan anyway? Oh, and add a Frenchman in there too.

"Where did you last see him?" Alaude said, breaking Tsuna away from his thoughts.

"On a street," Tsuna answered. Why was he being asked so many questions?

Alaude sighed, "Which street?"

"On the way to school."

The blond thought for a bit. This kid was… Annoying. Wasn't it obvious enough that he needed more details?

"Do you know where he lives?"

Tsuna nodded, his mind wandering towards the park and Giotto's apartment.

"Can you take me there?"

Tsuna nodded once more, taking hold of Alaude's hand and standing up.

Alaude flinched almost immediately, withdrawing his hand as if he had touched fire. "That was unnecessary," Alaude snarled, irritated by Tsuna's innocent blinking.

"I can't take you then," Tsuna frowned. This person wasn't as nice as Giotto, even if they did look similar. The brunet tilted his head to the side. They looked similar? No, that would be the wrong term. They gave off the same aura?

"Can you give me his address then?" Alaude crossed his arms. The kid must've thought he was a stalker or something.

"I don't know his address," Tsuna replied, "But I can lead you there if you don't want me to take you."

Alaude stared at the boy. There was something wrong with him. Deciding that it was better not to ask, Alaude nodded in approval.

The two of them walked downstairs, passing Nana who told them to have a safe trip. Once again, Alaude frowned at this. Her son was going outside with a stranger at night. Didn't she find anything strange with this?

Then again, no questions asked would be better for him. The sooner they could find Giotto, the better.

.

"Welcome back, Giotto," a voice spoke from within the darkness, "I kept the room clean."

"You ok, Dino? It's been a while," Giotto said, his hand searching for a light switch along the wall.

"Alive's good enough."

The light of the room flickered on. There was only a single light bulb handing by wires attached to the ceiling. The area was tiny, with a bunk bed and a small table as its only furniture.

"That's optimistic of you," Giotto grinned, looking at the person who was sprawled out against the bottom bunk.

"What about you?" Dino asked mirroring Giotto's grin, "How was your year and a half of freedom?"

"Quite nice actually. I became Student Council president and made some good friends."

"That's good," Dino sighed, "It's been boring without you here. Father went crazy when he found out you left."

"Serves him right, that son-of-a-bitch."

"But hey, Grandma was a nice woman," Dino joked, smiling.

"Yes, she was." Giotto sat on the area next to Dino, stretching his limbs and wincing at the pain the actions caused.

"Oh yeah, before I forget," Dino started, "The receptionist woman downstairs said you had an appointment in two hours."

Giotto frowned, "Father's making me work already? His fucking lackey broke my bones and all he wants is the bloody money?"

"I can go instead," Dino offered, making a move to sit up only to be pushed back down.

"I'll live," Giotto frowned, "Anyway, you don't look too good either."

"All in a day's work, my dear brother."

.

Tsuna hugged himself as a cool gush of wind swept the streets. Alaude walked silently, only a step behind, memorising the streets for later reference.

The two of them walked past the dimly lit park and stood in front of an apartment complex.

"Giotto lives here," Tsuna stated as Alaude nodded in thanks.

"Which one does he live in?"

Tsuna's eyes wandered towards a window fairly high up before pointing, "The one over there."

"No one's home," Alaude muttered, taking note that the lights were not turned on.

A loud screeching nearby caused Alaude to look around rapidly in alarm, the blond's eyes widening as he saw a black vehicle a few hundred metres away.

Tsuna looked at Alaude in question as he swore loudly.

"Kid, run away from the black car. Hurry!"

Tsuna frowned, not being like told what to do but ran anyway. That black vehicle, the one that looked uncannily similar to the one he had seen earlier that day, screamed danger. The blond sprinted along the pathway, with Tsuna huffing behind him. The distance between the two of them and the car decreased rapidly. Tsuna concluded that it was very hard to outrun a car.

A loud swear from Alaude was the last thing he heard before hands dragged him roughly into the black vehicle. A wet cloth drenched in a sweet smell covered his nose and mouth before Tsuna was swept into unconsciousness.

The brown-haired boy woke up to the sound of quiet talking. Faded lights from the outside flashed by as Tsuna struggled to make out his surroundings.

"- ink you could run away, hm?"

Tsuna heard someone spitting.

"That's not very nice. I only came to bring you home."

"Fuck you." Tsuna recognised this voice to be Alaude's

"That reminds me," the unknown voice drawled, "Gio-chan's having his punishment tomorrow. Care to join?"

There was a short pause before Alaude continued hastily, "Giotto came back?"

"Sure! His daddy found out he left and spent over a year looking for him. Come to think of it, you made Gio-chan all moody when _you_ left. Lost some sales there."

"Shit."

"Since when did you have such a potty mouth, Alaude? You were quite nice the last time I saw you."

There was no reply.

"Oh, the kid should be awake by now. Care to check for me?"

Tsuna felt Alaude shift before a pair of icy blue eyes stared at him before he put his index finger to his lips, telling him to stay quiet. Tsuna stared back, wide-eyed. What was happening?

"He's still out," Alaude said, reaching into one of his pockets for something. Tsuna looked at him questioningly.

"Hm? Who is that kid anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Met him on the streets when I was looking for Giotto."

"Bullshit. He's the same kid who was with Gio-chan this morning."

"Really? I just saw him near the park."

Alaude had found what he was looking for, drawing his hand back up to show Tsuna a couple of crumpled bills, a bit of paper and a pen.

"You're a really bad liar, Alaude."

Alaude scribbled something on the paper and showed it to Tsuna whilst continuing his conversation with the driver.

_Stay quiet until we get to our destination. When the car stops and the man at the front is ready to go out, open the door and run. Flag the nearest taxi and drive back to Namimori. Then, forget this ever happened._

Tsuna frowned at the message as Alaude pushed the crumpled money into his hands.

He was running a lot today.

.

Giotto breathed as calmly as he could as he approached the door of his scheduled appointment. He had taken a bottle of painkillers an hour ago, hoping its effects would last throughout… Work.

He stood outside the door, ignoring a disturbing scream from one of the other rooms, as he attempted to mentally prepare himself. Then again, no amount of mental preparation would ever be enough.

Sucking in a deep breath, the blond knocked on the door. An audible "come in" prompted Giotto to turn the doorknob and let himself inside.

The room was dark and Giotto's pupils dilated rapidly to allow as much light in as possible. After a few seconds, Giotto could make out a bed and a single figure sitting motionlessly.

Giotto moved towards the figure mindlessly. He may have tried endlessly to expunge his memories of this place but it didn't mean his muscles had forgotten.

Carefully, he sat himself on the figure's lap, winding his arms around the person's neck.

The person, whose face could still not be seen, chuckled slightly before standing up abruptly, causing Giotto to slide off and land painfully on the floor.

"How far have you fallen, Vongola Giotto?" the deep baritone asked with a hint of amusement.

Giotto recognised the voice. He squinted, attempting to make out who was standing before him. He could only make out the shape of a fedora.

"Reborn-sensei?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry that the chapter's so short but I felt that it just had to be ended there.<strong>

**This chapter also has a fair bit of dialogue. Sorry about that as well.**

**Even so, reviews are much loved.**

_**Kharron **_**(:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update! I've been a bit busy.**

**As usual, thankyou very much to all my readers and reviewers. :D**

**Oh, and happy first of November!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

Giotto sat, bewildered at the sudden appearance of one of his teachers. What was he doing? Since when did he know? How did he know? Why was he here? Questions continued to race through the blond's mind. Which should he ask first? Was Reborn-sensei here for him? Was this a secret hobby he did in his spare time? Giotto hoped it wasn't the last option.

The blond's eyes had completely adjusted to the dim lighting now. He could see every feature of his teacher's face clearly; the smirk on his face, the black eyes hinting amusement…

Giotto didn't know what to do. Should he leave? Should he stay? What if…

"I can see all the questions you want to ask clearly on your face, Vongola," Reborn said, "So my appearance in an unexpected place can pull down your mask, hm? Interesting."

"What are you doing here?" Giotto asked, deciding to go with the "who, what, when, where, why, how" sequence.

Reborn merely smiled a knowing smile before his face steeled. "I paid for only half an hour," he stated, ignoring Giotto's slight twitch at the word "paid", "So that leaves us with about fifteen minutes left."

"For what?"

"You don't want to stay here for another few years, do you?"

Giotto frowned, "Since when did you know?"

"I don't intend to tell you but if you must know, it's something along the lines of bribery."

The blond's brain immediately thought of multiple scenarios, most of which were absurd.

"Calm yourself, Vongola. Showing your fear isn't like you."

Giotto muttered something in understanding, keeping one last question to himself, _what else did Reborn-sensei know about him?_

.

The car slowed down to a crawl as it waited for a traffic light to turn green. Tsuna was curled up horizontally, afraid and unsure. Alaude sat upright, frowning and silent. The unknown driver was humming loudly to one of the songs that played quietly from the radio of the black car with tinted windows. Tsuna usually wasn't one to read the atmosphere but even he could tell a knife could cut the tension in the air.

"The kid awake yet?" the driver asked the minute his song ended.

"Not yet," Alaude replied immediately.

"Tch, weak kid."

Tsuna didn't like lying. He found it unnecessary to hide the truth from others. After all, lies would build up and more lies would be created. Even so, he understood that it wasn't in his place to speak. Sometimes, lies were created to protect…

His mind wandered to his mother. Tsuna had only discovered the name of his condition through overhearing his mother and Giotto's conversation.

She did it in order to protect him.

His school didn't know about his condition either. Tsuna couldn't think of what his schooling years would be like if he was treated differently, even if he already wasn't treated particularly well.

But his mother did it in order to protect him.

A light nudge against his elbow dragged him back to the car and his situation. The blond beside him shoved another piece of paper in his face.

_Get ready. We're almost there. Do not sit up until the driver leaves the car._

Tsuna took a sneak glance outside. He could make out tall buildings decorated in flashing colours. There were men in tailored suits accompanied by women wearing nothing but painful-looking heels and tight shirts that reached mid-thigh. Tsuna dimly wondered where their pants or skirts went. Did someone take them? They didn't seem to mind, though.

From the corner of his eye, Tsuna saw Alaude scrunch his nose up and frown. Did he just smell something strange? Tsuna sniffed the air gingerly, finding no foreign scent. Maybe he just wanted to sneeze?

The car screeched to a halt. Tsuna's body felt extremely alert. His mind recalled Alaude's instructions from before. When the driver is about to leave, open the door, run and find a taxi to drive him back to Namimori.

Then, forget.

"Wake up the kid. He'll be a pain to carry," the driver said, stretching and placing his hand on the handle of the door.

Suddenly, Alaude moved, his mouth directly by Tsuna's ear.

"_Go. Now."_

Tsuna's hand grabbed for the door, swinging it open swiftly. He sat up, nearly falling onto the ground outside due to Alaude pushing his back roughly.

"Run, Tsuna!" Alaude yelled, wincing while the driver manoeuvred himself to the back seats, stepping on his leg harshly in the process.

"You piece of shit, I'll deal with you later," the driver hissed, spitting on Alaude's face.

"Fuck you," Alaude spat back.

"Oh, but I already have. To you, and Gio-chan, too," the driver said with a smirk before throwing himself out of the car to give chase to the brown-haired boy who had bolted down the street, apologising to the people he bumped into.

Tsuna ran like his life depended on it. Well, due to these circumstances, he probably was. His legs burned and his lungs gasped for air. Still, he didn't stop. There was something about that man chasing him down the streets that drove him to run faster. Tsuna thought that it might've been because the man's face was horrendously hideous.

Though that could have been his imagination blowing things out of proportion.

Apologising to one of those businessman-and-pant-less-woman couples he ran into, Tsuna's mind wandered to a conversation he had with Giotto… Earlier that day? About left-handed people being good at sport.

The brunet realised there had been so much going on in his life recently. All these events had been crammed into a mere two or three days. He felt as if he knew his Student Council president for years rather than days. His life suddenly felt all the more exciting and thrilling, even if it was kind of on the line.

All of this started from the day he met Vongola Giotto.

Flashing lights from a car brought him back to reality as he remembered the rest of Alaude's instructions.

_Open the door when the driver is about to leave? Check._

_Run? Check._

_Find a taxi?_

On instinct, Tsuna yelled out "TAXI!" whilst continuing to run. The driver of the black car with tinted windows was only a few metres behind him. Time was running out.

"TAXI!" Tsuna yelled again, flinging out an arm onto a road the second he found a taxi.

The vehicle drove straight past him, not even pausing to contemplate.

Tsuna yelled for a taxi once more, finally seeing a vehicle pull up two metres ahead.

He ran into the car, slamming the door behind him.

"Can you drive to Namimori?" Tsuna asked breathlessly, feeling weak in the stomach.

"Namimori, eh? That's a bit far. You got the money, kid?"

"Yes," Tsuna replied bluntly, watching as the driver of the black car with tinted drew closer, his face enraged.

"I'm not one to be duped, kid. Why're you here anyway?" the taxi-driver questioned.

Tsuna frowned, "I was kidnapped by that ugly man who's just around three metres away from us."

"I'm trusting you, kid. Then again, how would you know I'm not going to drive elsewhere?"

"I don't trust you. I just want to get away from that man," Tsuna huffed, feeling his body tense as the black-car-driver drew closer.

"Yeesh kid, don't have to be so blunt. I'll take you there. Let's go."

"Thankyou."

The engine of the vehicle whirred to life as the chasing man grew smaller and smaller. Tsuna slumped back into his seat in relief, earning a glance from the taxi-driver.

"Where in Namimori, kid?"

"Namimori High, please."

"Oh, I know that place. Used to go there. Nice place."

Tsuna didn't reply, feeling the tiredness of running catch up to him.

"Don't worry kid. Go sleep. I'm not gonna drop you off somewhere and steal your money. We'll get to Namimori High by 6:30 in the morning or something. It's around 4am now."

Tsuna couldn't reply as he felt his tired limbs and fatigue take over his body to recover.

.

The sunrise and the vibration from the moving car roused the brunet from his uncomfortable sleep. Trees and familiar buildings built up the area outside.

Namimori.

Tsuna sat upright, placing a hand on the taxi window and admiring the surroundings he had taken for granted.

"Awake, kid? You slept like the dead."

Slept like that dead? How do the dead sleep, anyway?

Tsuna turned his head to see the light green hair of the taxi-driver. "Aren't you sleepy?" Tsuna asked, disregarding the man's previous comment and noticing the lack of circles underneath his eyes.

"I'm almost nocturnal, kid. Sleep in the day, awake at night. I don't mind. The night's better than the day anyway," the taxi-driver replied, "Oh, and we're about a minute away."

Indeed, Tsuna could tell they were only a about a hundred metres away from the school. His mother must be worried.

"And we're here. That was a long drive," the green-haired man sighed in relief, cutting the engine and slumping in his seat.

"Ah, thankyou," Tsuna smiled in gratitude, "How much is it?"

"Quite a bit. Look kid, I'll charge you half-price. I've always wanted to have a reason to return to Namimori but I wasn't ever bothered. Should thank you for that."

Tsuna grinned, taking out a pile of crumpled notes in his back pocket.

There was more than enough to pay for the taxi fare.

"I like you, kid. Polite thing you are. Bit blunt, but good nonetheless," the man smiled, "Tell you what. I'll leave you my number and I'll come for all your nightly escapades, whether it's to the red-light district or not."

"Thankyou very much," Tsuna murmured, accepting the business card from the man.

"Well, bye kid."

The taxi drove off in the direction they came from as Tsuna glanced at the business card in his hands.

"_Lam-po… What kind of a name is Lampo?"_

Thinking none of it, Tsuna walked straight into the school, his mind already set about what he was going to do. Some of the teachers should already be at school preparing for their classes. Memories of Alaude drifted into his mind.

_Open the door when the driver is about to leave? Check._

_Run? Check._

_Find a taxi? Check._

_Drive to Namimori? Check._

_Forget?_

Tsuna ran up the staircase of his school, searching for the staffroom. Upon seeing the door, Tsuna knocked on it thrice, waiting for an answer. One of the teachers opened the door and stared down at the brown-haired boy.

"Sensei! There's a person. Shirts with no pants. Ugly driver. Blond. Notes. Money. A person called Lampo. Mo-"

"Slow down. What do you need?"

Tsuna took a deep breath, "I don't need anything. Someone else does."

"Then ask that someone else to talk to us. If you excuse me, students should not be in school at this hour."

"But-"

"We're quite busy now. Come back another time."

The door slammed with finality in Tsuna's face. The brunet had never felt so frustrated before.

"Oh? It's the kid Giotto talked to," a voice spoke from behind him, "What happened? Did you find him?"

Tsuna spun around to see the redhead he met the day before. He was with Alaude before. Maybe he could help?

"We didn't find Giotto but Alaude was kidnapped," Tsuna said quickly.

"Hold on, what?"

"We didn't find Giotto but Ala-"

G. frowned, "Talk to me in the Student Council Office. The teachers don't like to be disturbed at this time in the morning."

Tsuna frowned, following the redhead to the Student Council Office. The two of them sat down on either side of G,'s desk towards the left of the room. A pile of papers and a mess of pencils were strewn across the desk.

"Now, tell me what happened," G. instructed, clearing up the papers in front of him but leaving the pencils where they were.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side, moving his hands to organise the pencils in length order as he opened his mouth to start speaking.

* * *

><p><strong>Too much dialogue. Again! D:<strong>

**The driver of the black car with tinted windows is unnamed and it will probably stay that way. Also, the random appearance of Lampo was entirely last-minute. I don't really like Lampo that much, though…**

**Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Leave a review please~**

_**Kharron **_**(:**


	7. Chapter 7

**First off, you may have noticed there was a change in rating. Yes. That's right. Things happen in this chapter (and maybe in chapters afterwards) that is… Slightly inappropriate, even if in… I'll stop there. Well, it's your choice to read it or drop it. (:**

**Now…**

**Thankyouuu so much for the reviews and your patience. Without further ado, here's chapter 7. :D**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

"So you're telling me that the blond who was here before got kidnapped."

Tsuna nodded.

"And that Giotto's in the red-light district for some reason."

Same response.

G. sighed, "You really expect me to believe that? Giotto's an honour student. I've known him for a year too. He wouldn't go to some prostitute's lair for fun."

Tsuna frowned in question, "Prostitute's lair?"

The redhead merely shook his head and ignored the question, leaving Tsuna thinking of promiscuous women living inside the caves of wild animals. Why would someone go there for fun anyway? It sounded extremely dangerous.

"Then again," G. continued with a cough, "Someone with a mind like yours that doesn't quite comprehend most things wouldn't make up a high-handed tale like that."

Tsuna didn't reply. It seemed the person in front of him didn't believe what he was saying… What was his name, anyway?

"But we can't really do anything about it, Tsuna," G. frowned, "I don't know what will happen if we're seen in the red-light district."

"What's your name?" Tsuna asked politely, seeming as though he didn't hear a word from the redhead in front of him.

G. peered at the brunet carefully. He was a strange, strange child. Deciding against questioning Tsuna about the sudden change of subject, G. tapped a sign on his desk that read, 'G. Vice-President'.

Tsuna's attention was drawn to the sign. Surely no one's name was only comprised of a single letter of the alphabet. Then again, if he pressed on about the subject, it may seem rude.

"Anyway, sorry Tsuna," G. sighed, "Even if you are telling the truth, we don't have enough evidence to act against it. Giotto can take care of himself. If he's in a predicament, he's sure to figure away out. He _is_ our beloved, idolised Student Council president."

Tsuna's mind travelled back to his experience in _the_ district. Alaude, the driver, the car, the escape…

If it was that tiring and painful to run away, who knows what the driver would do to Alaude for helping him escape in the first place.

Tsuna knew he didn't make the wisest of decisions but this was certainly something he wouldn't look over.

"There should be at least _one_ thing to do," Tsuna reasoned, noticing one of the pencils he lined up was slightly out of order.

G. smiled grimly, "If you're willing to risk suspension and humiliation, yeah, go for it."

Tsuna cocked his head to the side, placing the misaligned pencil back into line, "Ok."

The redhead was taken aback. This kid… The kid who only met the blond dude a day ago and Giotto not much longer before… Was honestly risking his school record for them? G. couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. True, it wasn't the smartest of things. However, disobeying rules was one thing. Loyalty to others was another. Giotto always helped him out when he was in a pickle. Why not return the favour?

G. smirked, silently laughing at himself for doing such a reckless thing, and by the word of a clueless child too. "I like your drive, Tsuna. Even so, you can't do anything at the moment."

Tsuna looked at him in question.

G. shook his head, "It _is_ the beginning of the day. We've still got a whole day of school ahead of us. Speaking of which, I'm delayed on my work preparation."

"Oh," Tsuna replied, taking it as his cue to leave.

"Wait at the gate outside in the afternoon," G. instructed. Tsuna nodded, leaving the Student Council office quickly.

The second the brunet left the room, G. slumped down in his seat and placed is head in his hands.

"I can _not_ believe I'm going to do this," he muttered to himself, wishing there was a cigarette in his hands. He was going to be breaking a major unspoken school rule in order to save someone. He might as well abide like a good student until then.

Fuck. What did he get himself into?

.

Giotto returned to his shared room in silence. Dino was asleep by then, his arms hugging his blanket tightly. Giotto smiled at the sight, remembering the times when they were little. The blond couldn't even remember whether there was a time where his brother didn't hug something in his sleep. Hell, little Dino crawled into his bed one night during a storm and Giotto spent the rest of the time squished against his body uncomfortably. His poor arm was numb for at least a week.

Yawning, Giotto ignored the ladder of the bunk bed and pushed himself up. The bottle of painkillers he took earlier was starting to wear off, causing pain and drowsiness. Taking little note of the dull ache around his torso, he lied silently in bed, thinking of his situation, Reborn-sensei, Dino, his work…

And Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Giotto rolled onto his side, wincing at the pain his actions caused. He wondered what happened to the innocent brown-haired boy. He probably ended up walking home without him. Yes. Tsuna was someone he barely knew. Why would he realise the blond was missing? Why would he find a way to save him from this shithole of a place?

Why did Giotto think Tsuna would find him and take him back to Namimori?

Why did he have his hopes up?

Giotto squeezed his eyes shut and smashed his head into his pillow. Honestly, what was he doing? He had never thought this much about another person since…

Since his first lover.

"_Its over now_," Giotto thought to himself, "_I cut it off. No use wallowing over in it now."_

Rolling onto his back, Giotto placed his left arm over his eyes. There was no use to think about it now. Over was over. That was the end of it. No questions asked.

_Beep. Beep._

An irritating beeping accompanied with an equally irritating flashing light shone from beside the room door. It was a tone Giotto knew all too well.

Climbing back down the bunk and hissing at the pain in his ribs, Giotto felt his way towards the flashing light, pressing the button while grimacing. Almost immediately, the beeping stopped but the flashing continued, an eerie green flicker as the only source of light in the room.

"Hello?" Giotto whispered, hoping he didn't have to wake Dino up for this.

"_This is reception,"_ a raspy woman's voice answered robotically, _"There is an appointment for Dino in two hours in room 13. Repeat. There is an appointment for Dino in two hours in room 13."_

Giotto frowned, "Can I go in his place? He's tired for today and he's sleeping now."

"_Sorry,"_ the robotic voice continued, _"Orders are orders. The client wishes for Dino in two hours in room 13."_

"We look similar, though," Giotto pressed on, knowing well that the receptionist woman would not be persuaded.

All Giotto received was the absence of a flashing light.

The blond cursed mentally. Damn people and their guilty pleasures. If word got out that his father exploited his own children in the sex industry for money, he'd be gone for sure.

Unwillingly, Giotto crept to his brother's bed and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking uncertainly.

"Huh? What?" Dino muttered as he woke up, sitting upright and looking around in confusion.

"Sorry mate. You've got an appointment in two hours. The receptionist woman didn't let me trade places," Giotto answered guiltily.

Dino blinked the sleep out of his eyes, "Aw, man. Didn't get much sleep last night either."

"Sorry," Giotto whispered.

"It's fine, bro. All in a day's work."

Giotto grinned, helping his brother sit up on his bed, "You should become a motivational speaker one day, you optimist."

His brother laughed in reply, pointing at a low-cut navy blue button up shirt by his bed. "When pigs fly," he joked, thanking his brother when he passed the item of clothing.

After an hour and forty-five minutes later added with an array of short stories and jokes, Dino made his way downstairs to room 13.

Giotto climbed back up to his bed, trying to catch up to the last hours of sleep he could have. The beginnings of daylight could already be seen.

The blond's thoughts travelled again. However, no matter how hard he tried, he always ended up thinking about the same brown-haired, brown-eyed boy who he met only a couple of days back.

He was a plain looking kid with generic features and a short stature. He was observant yet unobservant. Strong, yet vulnerable.

And he had OCD tendencies. Then again, he _did_ have a legitimate excuse for that.

Giotto felt sleep capture him as his dreams and imagination carried on from where his thoughts ended.

.

Giotto leaned down, sucking on a spot of flesh right underneath his partner's collarbone. The person shuddered, shifting his neck slightly to allow more access. The blond's fingertips ghosted over the frame of the person beneath him, relishing in the sound he emitted from the light touch.

He moved down lower, hands trailing the torso and mouth searching for a hardened bud. Smiling upon his discovery, Giotto teased the area with his tongue, enjoying the sound of his partner's muffled moans. The person beneath him reached up and grabbed hold of the shirt on Giotto's back, attempting to hold him closer. Giotto's smile widened at this as his right hand travelled lower to search for something that would cause more pleasure.

His partner gasped sharply as Giotto found his hardened member through his boxers. The person panted and released his hold on Giotto's shirt, deciding to clutch onto the sheets beside him instead. The blond grinned at every small action his partner did, knowing well that he was satisfying them completely.

He _did_ have experience afterall.

Giotto's mouth hunted even lower, searching endlessly for nothing in particular. His partner mewled in response, tightening his grip on the bedsheets earnestly as if he could release some of the anticipation into them. The blond's golden eyes glinted slightly as he eyed the pink erection before him.

"W-Wait. Not yet-"

Ignoring his partner's protests, Giotto licked at the slit, earning a loud moan, before enveloping it entirely.

His partner breathed harshly, unable to form coherent words, as Giotto started to suck. The blond moved his right hand, trailing to his partner's behind as he searched for the tight ring of muscle.

The person bucked as a finger entered without warning. Giotto chuckled slightly as he continued to lick at his partner's member.

"S-Stop…"

Giotto mercilessly plunged another finger in, scissoring and stretching in order to make room for something much more rewarding for him.

His partner let out a breathy moan as Giotto's fingers searched for a certain spot to…

The person beneath him let out a short scream as Giotto's fingers found his prostate. Giotto grinned at his successfulness before withdrawing his fingers.

His partner merely breathed heavily, eyes half-lidded and body flushed. Giotto found a conveniently placed bottle of lubricant by a bedside table and squeezed a generous amount onto his fingers. He coated his own aroused member with the gel before smearing the rest onto the entrance of his partner. The person moaned breathily, reaching out once more for Giotto's shirt.

Almost shaking with anticipation for his pleasure, Giotto searched for his partner's face. He dipped down and captured his partner's lips with his own, tongue lapping at the other's lips as a question for entry.

Tongue on tongue, the two of them joined in a rhythmic dance, swirling and sucking until they ran out of breath.

Giotto withdrew his head back to admire the aroused form of his partner.

Light brown hair in a style that matched his own accompanied with the blushing face and half-lidded brown eyes of the person he had met only days before.

Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

><p><strong>-cough- Yeah…<strong>

**I know it's… well… bluntly put, shit, but this would probably have to be the first time I've published this sort of stuff.**

**Nothing M rated is going to happen for a few more chapters because dreams are only interesting the first time.**

**Sooo. Leave a review please. :D**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Whoops. Forgot to update.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

Giotto hugged his own pillow tightly as he slept through his dream. His senses were solely focused on that small boy, only a year or two younger than himself, and what they were doing. He, Giotto, was enjoying it. A lot.

"_Giotto."_

The way his name rolled off the boy's tongue… Giotto relished every moment of it.

"_Giotto…?"_

The blond responded with a quiet hum in his sleep.

"Wake _up_."

Giotto felt a strange, sharp pain on his index finger. Slowly, he raised his hands to his head before opening his eyes drowsily.

Staring back at him were two, blank, emotionless eyes.

Giotto's own golden orbs widened in disbelief. With a loud yelp, he attempted to fling the object, which was securely attached on his finger, across the room.

It stayed on securely.

"Enzio won't back down that easily," a voice from beside him smiled.

Giotto turned towards the voice, seeing his brother smirking cunningly at him. "Enzio? When the hell did you get a…" Giotto looked back at his finger, finally realising what was on it. "Dino," he said steadily.

Dino blinked innocently, "Hm?"

"Where the _bloody hell_ did you get a turtle?"

The turtle, Enzio, finally released its hold on Giotto finger, satisfied in waking the person up, before trotting towards his owner and nestling on his shoulder.

"I found him somewhere. Poor thing was alone so I picked him up and brought him home."

Giotto shook his head. His brother always had some sort of a soft spot for animals.

"Well, stop talking about _me_. What about _you_? You were having a nice dream, weren't you?" Dino snickered.

"Huh?"

"You were moaning in your sleep."

"WHAT?"

"Ooh. Don't worry. I won't say a word," Dino continued simply, "But just answer this. Who was it?"

"Who was what?" Giotto asked hastily.

"Which poor soul was the star of your dream?" Dino tapped his index finger on his chin before grinning, "Could it be… _him_?"

"If you mean "him" as no-one, yeah, sure."

"Aw, you know what I mean," Dino said, dropping his smile, "Stop killing my fun."

Giotto sighed, "Let's just say it was, ok? And let it be the end of it."

"I don't believe you," Dino frowned, "But whatever. You were always the stubborn one."

Giotto raised an eyebrow. Him? The stubborn one? He couldn't believe those words were coming from _Dino's_ mouth of all others.

"But anyway," Dino continued, "I woke you up to tell you breakfast is ready in about half an hour."

Giotto hated the breakfast in this place. It was probably made up of the leftovers of a collection of animals from the butchers all condensed into one mixed with water and rice sprinkled with bits of vegetables. Oh he just wished there was a fast food chain around the area somewhere.

"You can eat my share," Giotto said, leaning back into his bed and turning over, "I'm not hungry."

"They won't be very happy. The rules have gotten stricter since you've been here."

Giotto sighed, "Well I'll just have to, don't I?"

"Great," Dino smiled, picking up a pillow and dropping it on his brother's face, "Get changed."

.

Tsuna leaned against the wall by the school gate. He was feeling extremely sleepy for no particular reason. School was more boring and less understandable than usual. Even random people who snickered as he passed them seemed to have decreased enormously.

Not that he was complaining.

Tsuna shuffled slightly, wondering when G. was going to arrive. His life had taken a thrilling turn from a couple of days ago. Now, everything just seemed mundane and like a chore. Tsuna wondered why this was the case.

"Tsuna!" a voice called from inside the school grounds. The brown-haired boy turned his head around to see his redheaded upperclassmen jogging slowly towards him. Nodding in greeting, Tsuna moved to stand in front of G.

"Sorry. I got a bit caught up," G. murmured, "Damn teachers."

"Caught up in what?" Tsuna enquired, earning a raised eyebrow from G. Tsuna was honestly wondering what teachers had to do with the redhead being caught in something. Maybe, for some unknown reason, they decided to catch G. in a net and make him get rid of his tattoo?

Tsuna himself understood his imagination was sometimes too wild. Choosing not to press on with the subject, he got to the point, "Are we going to the district to find Giotto?"

G. blinked for a second or two before sighing, "Has anyone told you that you're too blunt sometimes?"

Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Blunt? Like a pencil? Why would someo-"

"Ignore what I said." G. cut in quickly. His respect for Giotto shot up at that moment. How the hell did the blond survive with talking to this kid? It was… Extremely frustrating.

Tsuna lapsed into silence, waiting for a reply to his previous question about going to the district.

"If we get caught, we're screwed. Remember that," G. muttered.

Tsuna nodded. _"We're screwed?"_ he pondered, deciding against voicing his thoughts, _"What was that supposed to mean?"_

"Now. We need someone to actually _take_ us there."

Tsuna thought for a bit, "Don't we need money first?"

The brunet watched as G.'s mouth dropped to the ground before the redhead slapped himself in the forehead.

"Shit. I forgot to pay for the excursion again."

"Excursion?" Tsuna asked. How the hell did the topic change into excursions anyway?

"Yeah. The due date was today. My mum's going to kill me."

Tsuna stayed silent, not know what to say.

"Oh, but then that means we've got money," G. continued his one-man conversation. Tsuna began to find this slightly entertaining.

"Yeah. This should be enough to cover money," G. thought to himself aloud.

"How much?" Tsuna asked, breaking G.'s monologue.

"Enough," G. replied with finality, "But how are we going to get there?"

Something about that line triggered something in Tsuna's memory.

.

"_Tell you what. I'll leave you my number and I'll come for all your nightly escapades, whether it's to the red-light district or not."_

_._

Tsuna's hand dove into his pocket, finding the business card nestled in there before drawing it out. G. looked on with interest.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A business card."

G. frowned, "I can see that. What kind?"

"From Lampo."

"Lampo?"

G. glanced at the card in the brunet's hands. Surely enough, the name "Lampo" along with a phone number was printed neatly on the surface.

"Do you have a phone I can borrow?" Tsuna asked.

The redhead drew out his mobile phone without another word, watching Tsuna punch numbers in carefully before carefully holding it towards his ear.

G. couldn't hear the other side of the line. Tsuna merely said one-syllable words, most of which were along the lines of "yes" and "no". Five minutes later, Tsuna returned the phone with a satisfied expression.

"He'll be here in a bit. He's in town."

"Who's Lampo?" G. asked.

"A taxi driver who took me back home from the red-light district yesterday," Tsuna replied simply as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

G. grinned awkwardly. _"This kid has contacts. He may be bad at expressing himself but how does he know all these people?"_

Surely enough, a taxi drove towards the school. The sun had begun to set at this time. Tsuna found this ironic seeing as the sun was rising when he arrived in Namimori.

"You've got a buddy now, kid?" Lampo asked, ushering the two of them inside the taxi. Tsuna merely nodded in response.

"I'm not going to ask you what you're gonna do there, kid. I'm trusting you to behave." Tsuna nodded again.

"Hold on tight kid one and kid two. It's going to be a long drive," Lampo warned, starting the engine.

G. looked on from where he sat, thinking. The brunet had contacts and his way of words, or lack thereof, was powerful. People knew they had to pay attention or they would lose the important details of what Tsuna was trying to say.

In his own strange way, Tsuna was a force to be reckoned with.

.

"Alaude, Alaude." A silkily cunning voice cooed, "I missed you."

The blond glared at the figure in front of him.

"Why did you come back?" the voice continued, "You weren't as easy to find as Giotto was."

Alaude gritted his teeth, using only his willpower to stop a harsh comment from bubbling up his throat. It would only make his situation worse.

"Then again, Giotto stands out like a sore thumb. He's more stunning than you are."

Alaude closed his eyes, breathing slowly through his nose. He disliked being compared to Giotto. It only reminded him of how much worse he was…

A strong pressure on his right cheek accompanied with a burst of red pain made him gasp in discomfort. He berated himself mentally for making a sound in front of this person.

"Look at me when I'm speaking," the voice commanded, "And reply."

The blond opened his icy blue eyes and stared coldly into the pair above him. Resistance was futile. Alaude knew this but he continued to stand up for himself.

"Well? I said _reply_!"

A sharp kick in the stomach caused the blond to bend over in pain and slump unceremoniously onto the ground. Alaude picked himself up with little ease, continueing to breathe harshly through his nose and glare with his eyes. He ignored the pain in his stomach and the trickle of blood running down the right side of his face, not wishing to show the man his agony. His leg, where the black-car driver stamped on before, was shrieking in protest.

"So?" the silky voice demanded silently.

"Yes, Father."

* * *

><p><strong>Well. That ending seems familiar to me. Similar to chapter three or four? Can't remember.<strong>

**Sorry for the short chapter, though. D:**

**Anyway, yay! G. and Tsuna are coming to the er… rescue. It seems rushed to me, though. Tell me what you guys think. :D**

**Thankyou for reading~**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **_**Fai Senri**_** for making me go all happy and hyper.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

"You also think Giotto is more stunning than you are, don't you?" Father asked, reaching out to stroke Alaude on his stinging right cheek.

Biting his tongue sharply to prevent any spitting or swearing, Alaude kept his face blank with difficulty, "Yes, he is."

Father smiled haughtily, "There is a reason why Giotto and Dino make more sales than you do, Alaude. Do you know why that is?"

Alaude's right hand twitched at the word "sales". He hoped Father hadn't noticed it, lest another onslaught of questioning beginning.

"Well?"

"No, Father," the blond answered through clenched teeth.

"It's because the two of them _are_ my biological children. Don't get me wrong, you would be my favourite after those two, but what's a father if he doesn't love his own children?"

Alaude had an urge to slap Father silly. Love? What kind of a father exploits his own children in the sex industry?

"Still, you earned the privilege of calling me "Father" as well." Father's hand drifted down Alaude's cheek in a smooth sweeping motion before settling on his chin. Jerking the blond's chin upwards sharply and drawing his face close, Father was greeted with the sight of two, emotionless icy blue eyes.

"You must remember," Father continued, his breath fanning over Alaude's face, "I _was_ the one who took you in after that _horrible_ car crash. The least you can do is repay me."

Alaude gritted his teeth, digging his nails into his palm as an attempt to keep his mind blank.

"I did tell you to reply, didn't I?" Father frowned, hand creeping up towards the back of Alaude's head, petting the blond strands as if he were a dog.

Unable to resist a twitch in his eyebrow, Alaude spat out a reluctant, "yes".

"Good," the man in front of him said, releasing his hold and waving the blond away, "Now run along. You've got a few customers lined up for your return. Of course, there's a punishment for running away but I'll think of that later."

Alaude straightened up almost immediately, leaving the room without another word. He walked up and around the familiar corridors of the horrendous place before finally settling in front of a bleak wooden door. He let himself in silently, not bothering to fill the room with light. Instead, he threw himself onto his old bed, wishing to sink in and never come back.

A small buzzing from the door roused Alaude from his uneasy sleep moments later. With a groan, the blond dragged himself up to press the button on the wall.

"Yes?" he spoke wearily, cautiously.

"_This is reception. There is an appointment for you in two hours in room four. Repeat. There is an appointment for you in two hours in room four."_

"Understood."

.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, -"

Tsuna sighed as he continued to hear G., who was hunched up in the back seat, swearing under his breath without even taking a second to breathe. Lampo watched through the rear view mirror with one eyebrow raised, ignoring the beeps from annoyed motorists as he swerved in and out of lanes.

"I can _not_ believe I am actually doing this. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-"

"We'll be there in a few minutes. You can start to see the infamous red lights," Lampo said, turning to Tsuna.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, IDIOT! Fuck, fuck, fuck-"

There was a loud beep followed by a curse from a nearby motorist as Lampo's head swung back to face the front.

"Has he even taken a breath during this trip?" Lampo continued to ask Tsuna, keeping his eyes on the road. Tsuna merely stared back in reply, unsure whether to answer or not.

"Still as quiet as ever, eh kid? No worries."

Tsuna turned his head to look out the window. Indeed, the red lights could be seen again. Men and women chatted along streets, all tightly clothed.

Tsuna suggested mentally that they wear something looser. It didn't seem very comfortable, especially for that man whose penis outline was perfectly visible.

As the taxi drove past, Tsuna realised there were a lot more men who were dressed in the same fashion. Innocently curious, Tsuna decided to speak up.

"Why are those men wearing such tight pants?"

For the first time in the whole trip, G. stopped swearing. Instead, he made a sound that was a cross between a splutter and a cough.

The brunet patiently waited for an answer. After a minute or two, with still no answer, Tsuna decided to just drop the subject.

It was their choice to wear such uncomfortable looking clothing. Maybe it was a health issue. After all, those men did seem very small…

"And we're here, kid," Lampo announced, pulling up by the curb where Tsuna had ran in a night or two ago.

Tsuna could hear his red-headed partner in crime stop breathing before letting out a loud profane word which was a mixture of at least twenty other swear words.

"Hey kid?"

Tsuna turned from watching his swearing Student Council Vice-President to the green haired taxi driver across him.

"It's your choice if you're up to no good but this place is dangerous, you get me?" Lampo looked at Tsuna right in the eyes, "This place is extremely dangerous. Trust no one except that swearing kid back there," Lampo jabbed his thumb in G.'s direction.

Tsuna got out of the taxi easily. With the help of Lampo and a great load of pulling, the two of them managed to get G. out too.

"Remember kid," Lampo frowned, hand on wheel, "Trust absolutely no one."

As Tsuna and G. watched Lampo drive away, the brunet thought of what the driver had said.

That means he can't trust Giotto either?

.

"Back again, Reborn-sama?" the receptionist asked sweetly, shuffling a pile of papers, "You sure like Giotto, don't you?"

Reborn shot back a charming smile, "He's very pleasurable."

The woman smiled, "The usual half hour?"

Reborn nodded once, retaining his small grin.

"Are you sure that isn't too quick? Giotto is one of our best."

"Yes, I'm sure."

Honestly, although he didn't look it, Reborn wanted to shoot himself in the head and come back to life just to shoot himself in the head again. If the school ever discovered what he was saying about their beloved Student Council President and where he was actually meeting up with the blond, he would be fired. No, much worse. He would never hear the end of it.

He valued his pride, thankyou very much.

Reborn looked through his fedora at the woman who was typing away slowly with claw-like manicured nails.

How trashy.

The whole place was trashy. The odour of badly covered up sweat lined the corridors mixed with the stench of women drowning in disgusting perfume as they prepared for their… nightly escapades.

What a sad bunch of people.

Pitiful.

Reborn kept all these thoughts hidden behind an innocent yet slightly mischievous smile. It was amazing how far Reborn would go to protect his students, particularly Giotto who was almost the only person he had ever met who was able to maintain a philosophical conversation with him while simultaneously playing chess and finishing a thousand piece puzzle.

Do not question what the two of them do. It is how it is.

Yes, Reborn treasures all his students, stupid or not.

But he'd never let them know that. He _did_ have a reputation to uphold.

.

Giotto winced as Dino placed a strange smelling cream onto his back.

"What happened anyway?" Dino asked, smearing the green lotion over the dark red scratches.

Giotto shuddered, "The woman was pure crazy. She wouldn't shut up nor would she stop digging her nails into my back."

Dino laughed, "Feisty one, eh? Your ones love you."

"If it were artificial love against painless nights, painless nights would win by ten light years." Giotto frowned at Dino's snicker.

"You should stop wearing your hair like that. It's screaming sexy," Dino joked, squeezing more green cream onto Giotto's back.

"Have you no shame in saying this to your brother?" Giotto sighed, "Anyway, there's this kid at my school who has the same hairstyle as me." Giotto's mind focused onto his and Tsuna's first meeting in the Student Council Office, "Trust me. He's as innocent as a toothpick."

"A toothpick? Really?" Dino's grin turned into a smirk, "I can think of a few naughty things concerning toothpicks."

Giotto sighed, picking up a pillow from Dino's bed and chucking it at his brother, "No jokes. These scratches are _painful_."

"Ok, ok. Just teasing."

Dino went back to smearing lotion on Giotto's back in silence. After the lotion had dried and Giotto put his shirt back on, the two brothers sat across each other face-to-face. A few minutes passed in complete silence. The only sound was the buzzing of the light above them.

"Seriously. A toothpick?"

"Shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>I can't write over 2,000 words anymore. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?<strong>

**Sorry for the mass of short chapters, guys. I'll try and make them lengthier when the actual drama starts. :D**

**I laugh at Tsuna's innocence.**

**Please leave a review~**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the late chapter, guys. I underwent some major technical difficulties with MS Word which resulted in me losing the first thousand words of this chapter. D:**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10<span>

G.'s hand drifted towards his back pocket where he usually kept a packet of cigarettes as he and Tsuna made their way around the streets of red lights. Tsuna walked confidently, retracing his steps back from when he had run from the black car driver. He ignored, or simply didn't notice, lewd stares from men and women alike.

G., on the other hand, walked cautiously while being entirely alert. He almost yelled and punched a man whose hand seemingly drifted down his hip and slipped into the back pocket of his jeans.

Almost. He didn't want to go around making a scene now, did he?

Ah, he really wished he had kept his cigarettes by him now.

Tsuna suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing G. to walk into his back. The redhead looked up to see a woman with curled brown hair in a tight red dress pressing her breasts against Tsuna's face while simultaneously stroking his messy brown hair.

"Would you like to play, boy?" the woman whispered, "It doesn't cost muc-"

"Sorry. I'm occupied right now," Tsuna dismissed immediately, gently pushing the woman to the side and resuming his walk. G. smiled mentally. Trust Tsuna to do something like that.

"Anyway, Tsuna," G. frowned, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Tsuna nodded but didn't say anything afterwards. G. wondered why he even bothered to ask.

Meanwhile, Tsuna's mind was wandering, taking note of small details such as the strange mix of music from different buildings or rather the different buildings in general. They were all brightly lit with flashing lights, their names outlined in reds and yellows.

Most city buildings were blandly coloured, their names on plain white boards with black, fancy outlining and writing.

It was like a different country, this so-called "red-light district".

Then again, why was G. so jumpy? There were a lot of people around them, looking at them. Did he not like people looking at him? He was the Student Council Vice-President. He should be used to it.

The brunet continued to ponder. Why were so many people looking at them anyway? In Namimori, no one stared on the streets. His mother had told him it was rude. Did these people think differently?

Tsuna suddenly noticed the area around him. This was it. They were here. It was his first glance of the red-light district.

The two of them, G. and Tsuna, stood in front of a large, tall building. It seemed far flashier than the rest with its grand entrance and bright lighting. Alaude was in there somewhere. Giotto was too. Now that they had arrived, what were they going to do?

"We're here," Tsuna whispered, hearing a quiet, but sharp, intake of breath from G.

"What are we going to do?" G. asked, glaring at a man who was looking at them strangely.

Tsuna bent his head down and scratched his chin. They didn't really think of a plan during the trip on the taxi due to G.'s swearing…

Then, a thought occurred to him. This was a normal place. He could just march right in and ask for Alaude and Giotto, right?

"- I mean, we can't just march right in an- HEY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" G. yelled.

Tsuna had walked up towards the entrance of the building and swung the door open without hesitation.

.

Alaude breathed harshly on the bed beneath him. Not a scrap of clothing or bedsheets covered him as he willed the pain of a forceful entrance to fade. His body felt dirty. He knew the area by his abdomen was stained with dark blood. He didn't even need to look.

'_So this is punishment for running away?'_ Alaude thought to himself grimly, closing his icy blue eyes from the dark room he was in.

Voices whispered from behind the door of the dark room he was in. Alaude thought nothing of it until he heard two names.

"_There are two boys out the front looking for Gio-chan and Alaude. What should I do with them?"_

Alaude was startled. Two boys? Looking for him… and Giotto? No, it couldn't be…

"_Tell them that they're not here. Also, tell Giotto to come here. He and I need a little talk."_

"_Understood."_

Alaude sat up abruptly, ignoring the pain in his body. There wasn't anyone else who would ask for them, even less likely, two boys.

What the hell was that brown-haired kid doing?

Footsteps drifted away as Alaude slumped back onto the bed. He bet his left hand that Father would question him sometime sooner or later. Might as well get some sleep.

.

"Huh? What do you mean not here?"

"I'm sorry sirs. You might have the wrong place," the lady at the reception desk said in a bored tone, typing away.

G. sighed, "Do you think we're stupid? Are you patronising us?"

"However, we would offer you a job here. The pay's not too bad and your face isn't too bad either. The kid over there, on the other hand…" the receptionist woman pointed with a clawed nail at Tsuna who was looking curiously at a slightly inappropriate magazine by one of the tables.

"Are you even listening to me?" G. asked impatiently. "Don't tell me that _that_," G. pointed at a picture on the wall, "Is _not_ Giotto."

Surely enough, in the collection of pictures on the wall of people who worked in the building, the image in first place was of a golden haired, equally golden eyed teenager smiling charmingly at clients who walked in.

The receptionist hesitated for a bit before continuing to type, "I don't know what you are talking about."

As G. and the receptionist continued to argue, Tsuna examined the wall of pictures.

The collection was made of men and women. Each and every one of them were pretty, handsome, or simply stunning. Did this place only allow pretty people to work? The receptionist wasn't very pretty, though…

The sound of a bell jangled lightly as one of the doors behind the receptionist table opened.

A man in a suit and a fedora walked out, smiling at the receptionist who smiled back.

Immediately, G. fell silent, gaping at the man who had just walked out. The man himself, looked taken aback as he saw G. and Tsuna staring at him. The brunet knew this man. Of course he did. His memory wasn't that bad.

"Reborn-sensei."

"Yes, G.?"

"Why the _hell_ are you here?"

.

'_Gio-chan! Your father wants to see you. He doesn't look very happy, though."_

Giotto cursed. Gio-chan, Gio-chan. What kind of a nickname was _that_?

The blond made his way to the well known "boss' room" where he knew Father was waiting with a glass of champagne in his hands and a plate of strawberries in front of him. The "boss' room" was set far away from the most commonly used rooms. It was restricted for those who personally knew his father.

This was not going to be fun.

Giotto had yet to receive some form of "punishment" for running away. He merely hoped it didn't involve him and five lackeys in a room.

It wouldn't turn out very well.

Giotto stood outside the ornate door. A gold plate labelled with the name "Vongola" in neat, cursive writing was stuck on securely. Giotto took a deep breath before knocking on the door twice.

"_Come in."_

Giotto twisted the doorknob and let himself inside. Indeed, his father sat there with a glass of bubbling champagne and a plate of ripe strawberries. The man smiled, gesturing to the seat across him, "Sit down, Giotto."

Giotto nodded curtly, moving robotically to sit in front of his father.

"So, Giotto, how are you today?"

The blond sighed, "Cut the formalities. Get to the point."

Father dipped a strawberry into the champagne, "That's not how you talk to your father."

"I'm tired. I want to go back."

"Your stamina is very good, boy, but I'll put that aside for now." Father smiled brightly, flashing his teeth, "Have you told anyone about this business?"

Giotto frowned, "No, of course not."

"Hypothetically, what would you do if I told you someone came here to look for you?"

The blond's defences sprung up immediately. Did his father discover Reborn-sensei? What should he say? What would he do? One wrong move and it was over.

"I wouldn't believe you because I have never told anyone of this place," Giotto claimed as confidently as he could, looking at his father straight in the eyes.

Father cocked his head to the side, "Why are you so defensive? I can read you like a book."

'_He's making it up,'_ Giotto warned himself. "Defensive? I'm merely stating the truth."

"I can break you in a second," Father grinned threateningly, "But I wouldn't do that. You are my son after all so I shall believe you."

'_Bullshit.'_

"You make me sound like a culprit that should plead guilty. I speak only the truth," Giotto said, maintaining eye contact and not wavering under his father's pressure.

It was true. He had never told a single soul about what he did. Rather, one of his teachers had simply… Found out.

Father nodded once, "I am a busy man. You may leave." He then turned to his speaker on his desk, "Alright, you may send him in now."

Giotto frowned. What poor soul was going to confront his father now? Not everyone can stay strong under pressure. Deciding on leaving before his Father asked him another question, Giotto excused himself and made for the door.

The blond swung the door open as quickly as he could without seeming to be in a rush as he stepped out and began walking away.

Another blond could be seen around ten metres away, emerging from a door towards the left hand side. Giotto kept his head down as the other blond did the same.

The two of them continued to walk towards each other, shifting towards the wall to allow more space to pass.

Their shoulders brushed.

They stopped in their tracks and turned around slowly.

Golden eyes met icy blue as time stopped for a split second.

The two of them turned around again and resumed their walk away from and towards the boss' room.

* * *

><p><strong>Retyping is not fun. It came out better the first time.<strong>

… **That sounded weird.**

**But if there are any mistakes, please point them out.**

**Anyway, quick question. How old is Adult!Reborn?**

**Also, thankyou for all your feedback and response!~**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thankyou soooo much for getting me over 100 reviews, guys :D Let's see… The hundredth reviewer was **_**Fai Senri.**_** THANKYOU VERY MUCH!**

**MissDinosaur and InfiniteWhiplash: Thankyou for the help~**

**Oh, and sorry for the late chapter again. D: I got kinda lazy.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11<span>

G. continued to gape at his teacher, not believing that Reborn, being the strict, professional and organised person he was, had casually walked out of the door of a brothel.

Tsuna just blinked. His teacher was here. What a coincidence. Maybe he would be able to help rescue Giotto and Alaude…

The sound of G. and Reborn clearing their throats simultaneously brought Tsuna's attention to the redhead and his teacher. The two of them simply stared at each other before G. broke the silence.

"Reborn-sensei."

"Yes, G.?"

"Why the _hell_ are you here?"

Reborn coughed, "I could ask you the same thing, G. At the very least, I'm legally allowed to be here."

G. scoffed, "I see no sign indicating age limits."

Reborn raised a hand and pointed at a small sign nailed on the wall, "Strict 18+ premises, G."

The redhead twitched, "That aside, what you're doing is disgusting, Reborn-sensei."

"Doing what?" Tsuna asked. He noticed the 18+ sign previously but paid no heed to it. This place wasn't one of those adult bookstores in those dodgy alleyways he sometimes passed. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure of that either. He had walked right in whilst paying no attention to what the building was…

It was only then that Reborn realised Tsuna was standing by the pictures with his head cocked to the side, blinking curiously. He frowned in disapproval. What were his students doing here? Did they know about Giotto's… predicament?

"Excuse me sirs," the receptionist interrupted, "Please take your conversation outside of the premises."

Reborn nodded, grinning charmingly, "Sorry. Excuse us."

G. and Tsuna took this as a cue to leave the building, leaving the receptionist wide-eyed in her seat.

Outside, the three of them, Reborn, G. and Tsuna, sat by a nearby wall. Reborn felt as though it was his first priority to keep his cool in front of his students rather than wreaking havoc over finding them in the red-light district. On a _school night,_ no doubt.

"So, G.," Reborn coughed, "I'm assuming you're not here for recreational purposes."

G. glared at his teacher, "And I'm assuming you am?"

Reborn sighed. "It's not what you think," he replied, "You're an honour student and I'm good at guessing so I'll get to the point."

The redhead frowned. Oh, he knew where this was going.

"How much do you know about Vongola Giotto?"

.

Giotto sneezed and curled up in his bed. He hoped he wasn't getting a cold. Thoughts were running through his head like wildfire. Did his father know about Reborn-sensei? How could he have found out? What did Reborn-sensei know? Why was he here in the first place?

The blond turned and lied face down on his pillow. He knew he was smart. He could have easily become a doctor or a lawyer. In a way, that would've earned much more money than whatever his father did on _this_ side of the business.

His father's company was a strong, intimidating stakeholder that had recently bought many smaller companies in recent years to strengthen its roots in the business world.

Giotto had vividly remembered his father speaking to him when he was just a bit younger.

"_Giotto. You know that I started a new company because the other was getting a bit tiresome."_

"_Yes, Father."_

"_Well, we're short of people at the moment. Would you like to help?"_

Back then, he didn't know what he was about to do.

Back then, he didn't know what the red-light district was either.

He remembered being amazed by the flashing neon lights, curious as to why women wore such short skirts and slightly disgusted at what looked like people eating each other's faces along the streets.

If he had a super power, Giotto would want to go back in time.

Back in time to the world where everything was pure.

Back in time to the world where he was loved and not treated like an object.

Tsuna.

Giotto frowned and turned back onto his side.

That kid.

Tsuna.

He was innocent, carefree, loved by his mother, easily likeable and was often misunderstood by his peers.

Giotto had only known Tsuna for about a week. How did the small, brown-haired boy leave such a strong impression behind?

His autism?

The condition caused Tsuna to be unbelievably straightforward and unbelievably dense. Giotto could tell Tsuna was smart if he was understood. Understanding him in the first place was a task in itself.

But no, it wasn't his autism that left a mark.

Giotto didn't even need to think why Tsuna overtook his thoughts at times.

He was jealous.

The blond had always wanted to stay clean, innocent and curious at life's pleasures, the longing to have what one could not gain. Tsuna probably thought differently. He had to put up with teasing and jeering from peers at an early age. He didn't know why he was alienated, ostracised. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't he just be a normal person laughing and playing with friends?

However, sometimes Giotto just wished he was like Tsuna.

No, he didn't know all the hardships Tsuna went through. He should be happy with his achievements. Other than his father, Giotto was a pretty fortunate child.

There was a loud bang as the door of the room swung open.

Alarmed, Giotto sat upright immediately. He ignored the feeling of blood rushing down his face as he stared wide-eyed at the person by the door.

Dino leaned against the door breathing heavily to catch his breath. Giotto calmed down slightly, waiting patiently for his brother's breathing to return to normal.

The second Dino straightened up, Giotto asked in a concerned tone, "What's wrong?"

"He came back," Dino stated, closing the room door behind him gently.

Giotto looked at Dino questioningly, "Who came back?"

"Alaude."

Giotto steeled his face before sitting back down on his bed, "Alaude's back, huh? Yeah, I saw him outside the boss' room."

"Aren't you at the last bit happy?" Dino frowned.

"Not really. He hid himself quite well for a year and half. Him returning to this shithole isn't something to be happy about."

"Your language is worse than I last remembered it, bro," Dino pointed out. The atmosphere was turning dark as they talked about Alaude. Changing the subject was probably a good idea.

Fortunately, Giotto cracked a smile, "I have this friend who was also my vice president of the Student Council. Perfect grades and good with teachers but outside of school, he smoked, swore, and don't even get me started on his bad temper. He probably wore off on me."

"Oho," Dino grinned, "Is this friend the one you were dreaming about a couple of nights ago?"

"I thought we decided that it was _him_ and that we should leave it," Giotto sighed.

"No, _you_ decided that. I still didn't believe it. So, is it your friend? Is he good-looking? What was he doing to you in your slee-"

"Why do you have such a perverted mind, Dino?" Giotto smiled.

"Years of experience."

.

"Why are you here anyway, Reborn-sensei?" G. asked.

Tsuna had watched the whole ordeal and find it slightly amusing. G. had talked very animatedly throughout the conversation. The redhead and his teacher had decided on how much they know and what they were going to do with the knowledge. Tsuna had tuned out halfway, admiring the stars in the sky while Reborn-sensei and the Student Council Vice-President talked endlessly about a certain blond.

Reborn looked at G., deciding on what to say in reply, "The same reason as you are."

"To get Giotto out of this place? I still don't know why he's here but it's also quite obvious what he's doing," G. frowned, "How long have you known about this?"

Reborn crossed his arms, "I'm amazed you can talk like this to your teacher."

G. didn't reply.

Sighing, the raven-haired man answered, "Giotto's father was a teacher at my school back in the days."

"WHAT?"

"I met Giotto when I was around fifteen. If I remember correctly, he was five when he followed his father to school."

"Giotto… followed his father to school?"

"He was a strange child. Probably doesn't remember it, though."

Tsuna blinked at his teacher. Giotto, the Student Council President of the school, followed his father to school when he was five? Tsuna himself had done something similar quite a few years back as well…

"I got in contact with Giotto's father and he actually invited me over here. Quite a horrid thought, really."

G.'s eyes widened when he realised something in Reborn's words.

"Does that mean Giotto's father _owns this place_?"

'_Shit. I said something unnecessary,'_ Reborn thought.

"THAT MEANS GIOTTO'S FATHER IS EXPLOITING HIS OWN KID?"

Tsuna watched as bystanders turned their heads towards the three of them, some snickering and others giving strange stares.

"Calm down, G. It's under control."

"UNDER CONTROL? HOW IS THIS UNDER CONTROL? HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON FO-"

Reborn clamped a hand over G.'s mouth, "Don't make a scene."

G. struggled slightly under Reborn's hold before slowly calming down. Tsuna just stood where he was as an onlooker, hardly paying attention to what was being said.

"Why wasn't anything done sooner?" G. demanded,

"I didn't really know for sure until recently."

G. clenched his fist, "I can't believe this had been happening to one of my close friends. It had probably gone on for a long time before this, too."

"What's been going on?" Tsuna asked, finally deciding to start paying attention.

Reborn and G. looked at the brunet in surprise. The two of them had almost forgotten he was there.

"Don't worry about it, Tsuna," G. said.

Tsuna shrugged and resumed looking at the sky.

"Why is he here?" Reborn asked. Seeing that child in such a place was quite alarming. Of course, his astonishment wouldn't be able to be seen on the outside…

"He's the one who told me about this."

"What? How did he find out?"

"I'm not entirely sure. He said he's been here before and he also mentioned another blond who was looking for Giotto a couple of days ago."

"Yet he has no idea what this is about," Reborn stated.

"None whatsoever," G. confirmed.

The two of them turned to the brown-haired boy who was staring up at the stars in fascination.

What a strange child.

* * *

><p><strong>Man, I love Dino here. xD<strong>

**Anyway, yeah, I'm a lazy person. Sorry for the short/late chapter.**

**Once again, thankyou for helping me get over 100 reviews! I'm still ecstatic about that. :D**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy New Year everyone. I kinda forced this chapter to finish because I kind of have a writer's block at the moment. However, I wanted it updated before 2012. Excuse me for its extreme shortness and crappiness.**

**alphaX: At this moment, Reborn has pretty much figured out that Tsuna has autism. After all, he is a keen person. As for the question about Alaude, Giotto and Tsuna… Well, I'm not quite going to reveal anything yet. (:**

**InfiniteWhiplash: Lol. That has happened to me before as well. xD**

**Thankyou for all the reviews, guys. I love them all~**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 12<span>

The door of the room creaked open slowly as Reborn glanced down at the person before him. Giotto breathed a sigh of relief as he walked over to his teacher and sat down beside him.

"How's work?" Reborn asked, looking at the blond from the corner of his eye.

Giotto merely bent his head and smirked in response, "As usual."

The man in the fedora couldn't help but grin slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by the blond.

"You seem happier today, sensei," Giotto noted with a yawn.

"I met some interesting people a couple of nights ago," Reborn stated, "You're not as good at covering things up as you think you are."

The blond looked at his teacher questioningly, "Covering things up?"

"It's nothing," the man dismissed.

Giotto frowned but decided to not push on the subject. Reborn-sensei often said things which he disregards almost seconds later.

"However, it's just a little bit longer until you get out of this place."

Giotto's frown deepened, "What exactly are you planning on doing, Reborn-sensei?"

The man pulled his fedora over his eyes and smirked, "Just wait for the show."

The blond felt a growing sympathy for whoever was on the receiving end of Reborn-sensei's plan. From that smirk, he really didn't want his teacher as an enemy…

"That reminds me," Reborn said, "What did you do with Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"What do you mean?" Giotto asked. Multiple possibilities ran through his head in a second.

"He's been acting strangely at school," Reborn covered smoothly. He didn't intend on Giotto finding out about what Tsuna and the Student Council Vice President had been doing these past few nights. Something drastic was sure to happen.

"Strangely? Oh, I did disappear on him that day…" Giotto trailed off. That's right. He did disappear that day. He had also promised Tsuna's mother that the two of them were going to walk home together.

Giotto felt a sudden onslaught of guilt. Tsuna would've waited until the end of the day before realising Giotto hadn't attended school.

Waiting.

"Giotto. I heard that there was another blond around here. His name is Alaude, I think," Reborn said peering at Giotto's face for a reaction, "Do you know anything about him?"

The blond's eyes narrowed slightly, "How do you know about Alaude?"

"I have my sources but that's beside the point. My informant also suggested getting him out too," Reborn stated, "However, I have a feeling that anyone who wishes to leave will do so after my plan."

"How do you know about Alaude?" Giotto repeated.

"I have no reason to tell you."

.

Alaude sneezed as he sprinted through the corridors wildly, ignoring yells and the heavy footfalls of the people chasing him. For a brothel, security was pretty tight judging from the money and influence Father had on the business world. He escaped once, Father wouldn't make it so easy to escape again.

'_Shit. Why is this place so _big_?'_ Alaude cursed as he ducked into a room and out another door into a narrow , he knew this place well. Not many people knew about this corridor and Alaude, along with Giotto, would often come here when they wished to escape reality if not for a second.

Smirking slightly, the blond continued to run, checking behind him to ensure he had no pursuers.

A heavy impact and a short yell caused Alaude to fall to the ground. His eyes stayed glued to the floorboards, not wishing to look up and see whom he bumped into.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" the person apologised, "I was looking for the bathroom and got lost."

Alaude frowned. He recognised that voice.

"Alaude-san?"

Finally looking up, Alaude saw a pair of brown eyes and messy brown hair in front of him. "You," he said angrily, "I told you to leave and forget about this place."

Tsuna blinked, "I did leave. It's also hard to forget something like this."

"What I meant was leave and don't come back."

"Oh."

Alaude picked himself up from the ground and brushed himself off. Tsuna did the same seconds later.

"You said you were looking for a bathroom?" Alaude noted, earning a nod from Tsuna, "How the hell did you end up here?"

Tsuna took a deep breath, "I needed to go to the bathroom and there weren't any outside and Reborn-sensei went inside and said something to the receptionist and I was allowed inside to find a bathroom and I got lost and heard people running and I ran into a room and ended up here and then I bumped int-"

"Stop. That's enough."

Alaude frowned mentally. Tsuna really was something if he managed to find this place while looking for a bathroom. Each separate room should've been equipped with a bathroom, though. How on earth did he end up here of all places? Talk about coincidence.

The sound of voices through the walls drifted throughout the corridor as Alaude clamped a hand over Tsuna's mouth. "We must not be found. Stay quiet," he whispered.

Tsuna thought for a while before shrugging. He wasn't exactly talking in the first place…

As the voices quietened down, Alaude released his hold of Tsuna.

The brunet sniffed the air, "Alaude-san."

Alaude glanced at the boy.

"You smell strange. Like some kind of spice mixed with salt."

Alaude sighed. Of course he had to wear some sort of perfume. It was a requirement in his line of work. As for the salt, perspiration was an absolute product in his line of work.

"Oh. I still need to go to the bathroom," Tsuna muttered to himself, "I'll get going. See you later, Alaude-san."

"Wait."

Tsuna looked at the blond and blinked questioningly.

"I'll direct you to a bathroom if you help me out with something."

The brunet nodded in agreement, not particularly caring what Alaude wanted him to do. He needed a bathroom and that was all.

.

G. sat outside tapping his foot madly on the ground. Men and women alike glanced at him, whispering in hushed voices behind hands. Either Reborn or Tsuna should have returned by now. It didn't take _that_ long to find a bathroom, did it? After all, brothels should be abundant with bathrooms, right?

The word "brothel" brought a strange feeling to his stomach. It was such a horrible sounding word with its meaning no better.

Ah. He really wanted a cigarette now. Actually, smoking one would make him seem older, too.

An underage student wondering around the red-light district at such a time wasn't particularly good for his reputation. No one would believe him if he said he was the Student Council Vice President of a school.

A hand slithered towards the front of his jeans as G. glanced up to see a busty woman wind her arm around his neck.

"Hey there, boy. Why're you in a place like this at this time?" she whispered seductively into his ear, causing G.'s eye to twitch wildly as disgust rolled off him in waves, "Shouldn't you be finishing homework like a _good_ boy?"

It took every ounce of self control in his body to prevent himself yelling and punching the living daylights out of her.

"Remove yourself," he hissed.

"Oh?" she grinned, "But this thing's getting _hard_."

G. exploded.

"FUCK NO! WHO THE FUCK WOULD GET AROUSED OVER _YOU_? REMOVE YOUR FUCKING HAND BEFORE I SHOVE SOMETHING THROUGH YOUR FUCKING EYES. GOT IT?"

The woman left moments later.

G. sat back down, tapping his foot madly on the ground once more. Even more people started whispering and sniggering to each other.

_'Shit. I caused a scene,'_ G. thought, sighing.

He really _really_ wanted a cigarette now.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry again for the lateshort/crappy chapter.**

**I'll try and update faster though I'm sure it wouldn't work. I can't help but think of chapters way into the future.**

**Leave a review please!**

**And Happy New Year once more~**

**_Kharron_ (:  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Heeellooooo again :D**

**It's been quite some time hasn't it? Well, I'll make excuses for myself after this chapter.**

**Enjoy~**

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><p><span>Chapter 13<span>

'_And I make a left here…'_

Tsuna carefully counted his steps as he turned to his left, walking an additional five metres before staring at the door on his right hand side. Alaude had given him specific instructions to a room in the building where he was to drop off a message. It was only two minutes after Tsuna left that he realised he still didn't know where the bathroom was.

'_I hope this person knows,'_ Tsuna thought, raising a hand and rapped his knuckles on the door. The brunet heard a loud clatter and a short curse before the door creaked open slowly, revealing a blond man with half-lidded, tired eyes.

"Who are you?" the man nearly grunted, yawning and stretching before cursing again and placing his hand by his hip as if he were in pain.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the burnet replied. He was certainly seeing _a lot_ of blond people these days. Giotto, Alaude, and now this person. He was sure this thought had passed his mind before but there usually weren't that many blond people in Japan.

Tsuna noticed another thing. All three blonds were attractive in some way. Maybe it was because they were blond. He didn't particularly care that much to find out.

"What's a kid like you doing here?" the blond muttered, obviously roused from his sleep and in a bad mood.

"I was told to send a message."

"Hm? Oh. From who?"

"Alaude."

"Right, right."

There was a pause before the man's eyes shot open, startling the brunet slightly.

"Did you just say Alaude?"

Tsuna nodded, holding the folded piece of paper sent from Alaude.

The blond took the piece of paper and grinned.

"Alaude's messenger, eh?" the blond said, dragging Tsuna inside the room, "You must be pretty special to affiliate with him."

Tsuna blinked. The blond (and the whole room, actually) carried the same scent of spice and salt on Alaude.

"What's your name?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna wasn't bothered to remind the blond that he had already stated his name prior to entering the room.

The blond's grin brightened, "I'm Dino. Sorry about before. Work made me a bit grumpy."

"What do you do for work?"

Dino's face froze. They were in a brothel. The whole bloody place smelt like sex, bluntly put. What else could he do?

Deciding to play it safe and not unnecessarily taint a young boy's mind, he pasted his most dazzling smile on his face and replied, "Work of the night."

Tsuna frowned at such an ambiguous answer but didn't push on the subject.

"Well, Tsunayoshi. The message is for Giotto and not me, right? I don't see why Alaude would want to talk to me, really."

"Giotto? You know Giotto?" Tsuna asked.

Dino blinked, "I'm his older brother."

Tsuna stared at Dino wide-eyed. No wonder they kind of looked alike.

The brunet's attention was suddenly drawn to his full bladder. Noticing a small bathroom connected to the room, Tsuna asked, "May I please use your bathroom?"

"Yeah, sure," Dino replied, looking at the note in his hands as Tsuna hurried to his long awaited toilet break.

The door of the room opened slowly as Giotto entered, yawning whilst trudging to the bottom bunk.

"You've got mail," Dino snickered, waving the piece of paper around in the air.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping now?" Giotto asked, taking the paper and unfolding it.

"I was interrupted by a little birdie."

'_Birdie?'_ Giotto raised his eyebrow before reading the hastily scrawled message before him.

_Meet me at the passageway ASAP._

_A._

"Love letter?" Dino joked, "What does it say?"

"Who sent this?" Giotto asked, completely ignoring his brother who was grinning interestedly.

"Do you mean the little birdie or the writer?" Dino smiled.

"You know damn well who I mean," Giotto hissed.

Dino's grin dropped, morphing into something more serious, slightly sinister, "And you know damn well who sent it. Be careful, Giotto."

Giotto sighed, clenching his fist, "I'll be back."

Immediately, he turned towards the door and walked out, hearing a quiet, "Who were you talking to?" from inside the room.

It was probably the little birdie.

.

"He's not back yet?" Reborn frowned.

"It doesn't take that long to find a bathroom in one of these buildings," G. sighed, "But when it's concerning someone like Tsuna, who knows what would happen."

Reborn couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly with that.

"Should we go in and find him?"

Reborn cleared his throat, "In a place so large, it would take a long time."

"What else can we do?" G. muttered, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. The thought of some innocent kid wandering through a _brothel_ brought shivers down his spine. He wouldn't want to find out the mystery of accident babies through this sort of method…

The man in the fedora furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a second, his eyes showing indecision. Not long after, he found his resolve and looked at G. with such a serious expression on his face, the redhead wished the ground would split and swallow him up.

'_It's a bit earlier than what I expected but it's time,'_ Reborn thought.

"G."

"Yes, Reborn-sensei?"

"Which live news channels are on right now?"

The redhead responded almost immediately, "Channel 27 Late News just started. I always watch it at this time."

Disregarding the fact that students were meant to be in dreamland at this hour in order to receive their minimum eight hours of sleep a day, Reborn smirked, "We're going to wreak some havoc. Call them up and give these _exact_ instructions. I'll be taking a little trip."

At that, Reborn turned around and entered the building behind them, looking as though he finally got his hands on something he had wished for for years.

.

Giotto power walked through the winding corridors of the building, making his way to the passageway where he had memorised long ago. He probably could've walked there without bumping into anything with both his eyes closed.

The blond counted the doors along the wall, entering the third one down. Without bothering to open the lights of the dark room, he made his way to the connected wall and felt for the doorknob. He twisted the knob and stepped into the narrow passageway, closing the door quietly behind him.

Walking forward a couple of steps and turning a corner, Giotto saw a figure leaning against the wall, staring at him with icy blue eyes. Giotto made his way to Alaude's right hand side and sat down, gesturing for the other blond to do the same.

The two of them sat in silence for a minute before Alaude decided to speak, "I heard you escaped for a bit."

"A year. Not as long as you did."

They lapsed into silence once more, unsure what to say after being apart for years.

"I went to find you but you at your home but you were already taken back by then."

"I see." Giotto frowned for a second. How did Alaude get his address?

Alaude examined Giotto face before closing his eyes, "Still easy to read, Giotto."

Giotto's golden eyes flashed dangerously, "What do you mea-"

"A kid led me there from your school," Alaude frowned, cutting Giotto off, "Slightly irritating but he did help me."

"Kid?" Could he possibly mean…

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. I assume you know him. He came back here looking for you. I told him to give you the message to meet me here."

Giotto stared at Alaude, allowing the words to sink in.

He came back here looking for you.

He came back here looking for _me._

He came back for me.

He came back.

Immediately, Giotto stood up, towering over Alaude who was still sitting against the wall.

"You mean he's _here_?" Giotto hissed, "Why did you let him come here? He has the innocence of a five-year old and _you brought him to this hell?_ WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

Icy blue eyes glared as Alaude stood up as well, "What gives you the right to yell at me?"

"Oh, I think I have every right to do so. You brought an innocent person to this place. THIS PLACE OF ALL PLACES!" Giotto yelled.

Alaude raised his voice to a similar volume, "IT WAS NOT MY DECISION. THOSE BASTARDS PICKED HIM UP AND BROUGHT HIM HERE WITH ME."

"THEN WHY DID HE COME BACK?"

"I _SAID_ HE CAME BACK FOR _YOU_. I did not _tell_ him to come back, nor did I have any _intention_ of him coming back in the first place. I EVEN TOLD HIM TO LEAVE AND FORGET ABOUT IT."

"WHY THE FUCK WAS HE WITH YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

"BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO FIND YOU."

"WHY WOULD YOU ASK A RANDOM STUDENT FROM MY SCHOOL FOR MY WHEREABOUTS?"

"I WAS SEARCHING FOR YOU EVER SINCE I LEARNT OF YOUR ESCAPE. I'D HAVE ASKED A RANDOM PERSON ON A STREET FOR ALL I CARED."

"WHY WERE YOU SEARCHING FOR ME? WE PARTED OUR WAYS. YOU ESCAPED, I STAYED AND ENDURED. I SAID THAT IT WAS OVE-"

A harsh pressure on his lips caused Giotto to slam his back against the wall painfully. Giotto's eyes closed automatically, responding to the kiss with equal pressure. Alaude kept his eyes open, examining Giotto's reactions carefully before slowly slipping closed, knowing this feeling was only short lived.

Time stopped for a second before golden eyes snapped open, realising exactly _who_ he was with and _where the hell_ he was.

Using both hands to push Alaude away, Giotto kept his eyes down as he regained his breath, knowing Alaude was doing the same.

"Where is he?" Giotto asked quietly the second he started breathing normally.

Knowing who he was talking about immediately, Alaude responded, "I'm not sure. I sent him to give you the message. That's all."

The golden haired blond walked off immediately in search for Tsuna. He turned the corner and exited the narrow passageway, closing the door with a conclusive slam.

Alaude punched the wall in front of him.

.

G. stared at his phone intensely. Reborn-sensei had wanted him to find the number of the Channel 27 news station and call immediately when his teacher left a missed call. Immediately.

He wasn't given any more information.

Why on earth did he need a news station? What was his teacher going to be doing in _there_? He had a strong feeling that something _extremely big_ was going to happen.

G. glanced back at his phone. Five minutes had passed since Reborn-sensei entered the building. Within those five minutes, he was given three brightly coloured pamphlets, two sex offers and one free condom. The three pamphlets had all been ripped and thrown away, one of the two sex offers was scared off by his glare and the other sex offer had a condom thrown in her face.

Oh lord, what a horrible place to be.

The redhead flipped his phone open and shut again. He never knew waiting for a missed phone call would be so suspenseful.

'_After you receive a missed call, call the tv station. Immediately. This is very important as you will only have a small time allowance to do so. This plan all depends on the timing. You will be the centre of this timing.'_

G. shivered at the memory. His teacher was exuding a massive amount of pressure. The redhead then remembered Reborn-sensei's next words.

'_But no pressure.'_

Yeah, right.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his hand for a split second. Alert, G. flipped his phone open again. Surely enough, he had received one missed call.

It was time for the news.

* * *

><p><strong>So… Alaude and Giotto's relationship has been revealed. Quite spontaneously, I might add.<strong>

**My thoughts were all over the place when I wrote this chapter so if it's confusing anywhere, I'll try my best to clear it up.**

**ANYWAY!**

**It's been around one and a half months, give or take, hasn't it? Well! I do have an excuse for that.**

**I was overseas with minimal internet connection and no time to spare.**

… **And I got a bit lazy upon my return.**

**Thankyou for sticking with me even after this late, late update!**

**Reviews would be lovely~**

_**Kharron**_** (:**


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